What are ONNX, TensorRT, and model compilation, and why export/compile a model for serving?
A PyTorch model in eager mode is not the fastest form for inference. The signal is knowing that ONNX buys portability while TensorRT-style compilers buy hardware-tuned speed, and precisely which optimizations get you there. Here is the answer.
Updated Sep 2026 · Grounded in real GenAI, LLM, and AI/ML engineering interview loops and written to a senior-engineer editorial bar.
A PyTorch model in eager mode is not the fastest form for inference. The signal is knowing that ONNX buys portability while TensorRT-style compilers buy hardware-tuned speed, and precisely which optimizations get you there. Here is the answer.
Lead with where the obvious approach breaks, because that is the judgment they are screening for — most candidates jump straight to the happy path and lose the room.
Then walk the failure back through the pipeline in order, naming the one metric the customer's exec sponsor actually cares about before you propose the fix.
