The Modern Data Stack: Managing Iceberg Lakehouse
The Modern Data Stack: Managing Iceberg Lakehouse
Date: Wednesday, January 28, 2026
Time: 18:00–20:00
Location: Tikal Offices
*The meetup will be held in Hebrew
As data ecosystems evolve, the transition to a Lakehouse architecture has become the standard for organizations seeking flexibility and scalability. But how do you manage it correctly without being tethered to unpredictable cloud costs or getting lost in file management?
In this meetup, we’ll explore the practical side of managing an Iceberg Lakehouse – from building a 100% open-source stack to achieving optimal compaction in Apache Spark. We’ll dive into how to maintain high performance, keep your data organized, and stay in full control of your metadata.
On the Agenda
18:00–18:30 → 🍕 Welcome Drinks & Networking
18:30–19:15 → Escape the Clouds: Building a Pure Open Source Lakehouse// Yoav Nordmann, Backend Architect, Tech & Group Lead @ Tikal
Are you tired of vendor lock-in and the unpredictable costs of proprietary data warehouses? Join us for a deep dive into building a 100% open-source data stack that doesn't compromise on performance. We will start by constructing a high-performance warehouse including compute, storage, and observability, then expand into a full-scale Lakehouse. Learn how to integrate Apache Iceberg and manage it with cutting-edge tools, ensuring you own your data, metadata, and compute-without the "cloud tax."
19:15–20:00 → Getting Compaction Right in Apache Spark // Ehud Eliaz, Chief Architect and Co-Founder @ DualBird
Compaction is a fundamental operation in Spark-based data lakes, yet getting it right is far from trivial. This talk breaks down how compaction is actually performed in Apache Spark and how it is used with open table formats like Apache Iceberg. We’ll focus on the practical side of running compaction at scale: critical configuration choices, Spark's behavior during runtime, and where performance issues tend to appear. Walk away with a clear picture of what “good” compaction looks like in real-world systems.
Please Note:
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About Tikal
Tikal is your hands-on tech consultancy partner for scaling your engineering organization and delivering impactful technology solutions. With over 25 years of experience, we help tech companies scale up their engineering capabilities with hands-on expertise in AI/ML, Backend, Data, DevOps, Fullstack, and Web, integrated into your engineering teams to bring value from day one. As the founders of the Israeli Tech Radar, we drive industry impact by sharing insights and guiding engineering leaders and teams across the tech industry.
About DualBird
DualBird accelerates AI infrastructure and big data processing over the cloud, seamlessly improving performance by 10-30x while reducing costs by 50-90%.
DualBird provides the next generation of data infrastructure, by leveraging cloud FPGA instances (programmable custom HW).