Advanced RAG Architecture, Custom Skills & Evaluation on Google Cloud Platform¶
Target Audience: Security Professionals, Cloud Architects, and Python Developers
Prerequisites: Proficiency in Python, basic familiarity with GCP (Vertex AI), and core understanding of LLM/RAG concepts
Format: 4-Week Intensive / Hands-on Workshop Style
Executive Summary¶
Organizations are increasingly leveraging Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) to automate complex analytical tasks—such as evaluating Data Flow Diagrams (DFDs) against strict technical requirements, security baselines, diagramming standards, and internal SDLC handbooks. Moving from a basic vector search proof-of-concept to an enterprise-grade, secure, and highly accurate production system presents significant engineering challenges.
This course directly addresses the key knowledge gaps:
- Accuracy & Data Management — Hybrid, chunking-aware, and structured domain retrieval.
- Storage Architecture Selection — Evaluating vector stores, graph databases, and relational/hybrid options on Google Cloud Platform.
- Skill & Prompt Engineering — Modular LLM “Skills” (tools/functions) without context-window bloat.
- Automated Evaluation & CI/CD Testing — Continuous verification of faithfulness, relevance, context recall, and security compliance.
Learning Objectives¶
By the end of this course you will be able to:
- Architect hybrid RAG pipelines with custom chunking, metadata enrichment, and hybrid search (Vector + Keyword + Knowledge Graph) tailored to multi-document alignment (DFDs + Security Standards + SDLC).
- Select and provision optimal GCP storage options (Vertex AI Vector Search, pgvector on Cloud SQL / AlloyDB, BigQuery, Neo4j / Spanner Graph).
- Develop single-responsibility agentic skills in Python without prompt bloat or tool overload.
- Implement automated RAG evaluation pipelines using Ragas, Vertex AI Evaluation, and deterministic assertions, integrated into Cloud Build / GitHub Actions quality gates.
Course Structure at a Glance¶
| Week | Focus | Key Labs |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Precision RAG & Domain Chunking | Document-aware chunking, Hybrid retrieval + re-ranking |
| 2 | Storage Architecture on GCP | AlloyDB pgvector vs Vertex AI Vector Search, Graph RAG |
| 3 | Skill Architecture & Prompt Hygiene | Modular Function Calling, Dynamic Skill Router |
| 4 | Automated Evaluation & CI/CD | Golden datasets + Ragas, Cloud Build quality gates |
| Capstone | Automated DFD Security & SDLC Compliance Evaluator | End-to-end production pipeline |
How to Use This Site¶
- Navigate via the top tabs or left sidebar.
- Each week contains an Overview, detailed Theory, and hands-on Lab pages.
- Lab code and notebooks live in the repository under
/labsand/notebooks. - The Capstone section contains the full project specification and starter template guidance.
Ready to begin? Start with the Syllabus or jump straight into Week 1.