Tool definitions are the new Prompt Engineering

Tool definitions are the new Prompt Engineering

Author: Demetrios December 23, 2025 Duration: 58:08

Alex Salazar is the CEO and Co-Founder of Arcade.dev, working on secure AI agents and real-world automation integrations.


Chiara Caratelli is a Data Scientist at Prosus Group, working on AI agents, web automation, and evaluation of robust multimodal models.


Join the Community:

https://go.mlops.community/YTJoinIn

Get the newsletter: https://go.mlops.community/YTNewsletter

MLOps GPU Guide:

https://go.mlops.community/gpuguide


// Abstract

Agents sound smart until millions of users show up. A real talk on tools, UX, and why autonomy is overrated.


// Bio

Chiara Caratelli

Chiara is a Data Scientist at Prosus, where she develops AI-driven solutions with a focus on AI agents, multimodal models, and new user experiences. With a PhD in Computational Science and a background in machine learning engineering and data science, she has worked on deploying AI-powered applications at scale, collaborating with Prosus portfolio companies to drive real-world impact.

Beyond her work at Prosus, she enjoys experimenting with generative AI and art. She is also an avid climber and book reader, always eager to explore new ideas and share knowledge with the AI and ML community.


Alex Salazar

Alex is the CEO and co-founder of Arcade.dev, the unified agent action platform that makes AI agents production-ready. Previously, Salazar co-founded Stormpath, the first authentication API for developers, which was acquired by Okta. At Okta, he led developer products, accounting for 25% of total bookings, and launched a new auth-centric proxy server product that reached $9M in revenue within a year. He also managed Okta's network of over 7,000 auth integrations. Alex holds a computer science degree from Georgia Tech and an MBA from Stanford University.


// Related Links

Website: https://www.prosus.com/

Website: https://www.arcade.dev/


~~~~~~~~ ✌️Connect With Us ✌️ ~~~~~~~

Catch all episodes, blogs, newsletters, and more: https://go.mlops.community/TYExplore

Join our Slack community [https://go.mlops.community/slack]

Follow us on X/Twitter [@mlopscommunity](https://x.com/mlopscommunity) or [LinkedIn](https://go.mlops.community/linkedin)]

Sign up for the next meetup: [https://go.mlops.community/register]

MLOps Swag/Merch: [https://shop.mlops.community/]


Connect with Demetrios on LinkedIn: /dpbrinkm

Connect with Alex on LinkedIn: /alexsalazar/

Connect with Chiara on LinkedIn: /chiara-caratelli/


Timestamps:

[00:00] Intro

[00:15] Insights from iFood

[06:22] API vs agent intention

[09:45] Tool definition clarity

[15:37] Preemptive context loading

[27:50] Contextualizing agent data

[33:27] Prompt bloat in payments

[41:33] Agent building evolution

[50:09] Agent program scalability

[55:29] Why multi-agent is a dead end

[56:17] Wrap up


Hosted by Demetrios, MLOps.community is a space for honest, meandering talks about the real work of making artificial intelligence systems actually work. This isn't about hype or theoretical papers; it's about the messy, practical, and often surprising journey of taking models from a notebook into a live environment. You'll hear from engineers and practitioners who are in the trenches, discussing the tools, the frustrations, and the occasional breakthroughs that define the day-to-day. The conversations are deliberately relaxed, covering everything from traditional machine learning pipelines to the new world of large language models and even the intangible "vibes" of team culture and process. Each episode peels back a layer on what "production" really means, whether that involves deploying a predictive service, managing an agentic system, or maintaining reliability as everything scales. Tuning into this podcast feels like grabbing a coffee with colleagues who aren't afraid to dig into the technical nitty-gritty while keeping the tone conversational and accessible. It's for anyone who builds, manages, or is just curious about the operational backbone that allows AI to deliver value, offering a grounded perspective often missing from the broader conversation.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 100

MLOps.community
Podcast Episodes
How Sierra AI Does Context Engineering [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:04:03
Zack Reneau-Wedeen is the Head of Product at Sierra, leading the development of enterprise-ready AI agents — from Agent Studio 2.0 to the Agent Data Platform — with a focus on richer workflows, persistent memory, and hig…
Building Cursor: A Fireside Chat with VP Solutions Ricky Doar [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 26:44
Ricky Doar is the VP of Solutions at Cursor, where he leads forward-deployed engineers. A seasoned product and technical leader with over a decade of experience in developer tools and data platforms, Ricky previously ser…
Reliable Voice Agents [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 38:21
Brooke Hopkins is the CEO of Coval, a company making voice agents more reliable. Reliable Voice Agents // MLOps Podcast #347 with Brooke Hopkins, Founder of Coval.Join the Community: https://go.mlops.community/YTJoinInGe…
The Future of AI Operations: Insights from PwC AI Managed Services [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:27
Rani Radhakrishnan is a Principal at PwC US, leading work on AI-managed services, autonomous agents, and data-driven transformation for enterprises.The Future of AI Operations: Insights from PwC AI Managed Services // ML…
GPU Uptime with VAST Data CTO [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:33:45
Andy Pernsteiner is the Field CTO at VAST Data, working on large-scale AI infrastructure, serverless compute near data, and the rollout of VAST’s AI Operating System.The GPU Uptime Battle // MLOps Podcast #346 with Andy…