In this episode of the Modern Web Podcast, recorded live at All Things Open in Raleigh, NC, hosts Rob Ocel and Danny Thompson sit down with Dr. Sally Wahba, Principal Software Engineer at Splunk. Dr. Wahba shares her experience tackling on-call burnout, offering insights into reducing fatigue through better observability, automation, and thoughtful team practices.
The conversation also touches on mentorship and growth in the tech industry, including practical advice for junior engineers navigating the transition from academics to professional roles and tips for companies to better support new talent.
Chapters
00:00:13 - Introduction to Marketing This Dot
00:01:00 - Asking for Help Effectively
00:02:21 - Reducing On-Call Fatigue
00:04:42 - Observability Best Practices
00:07:07 - Balancing Alerts and On-Call Efficiency
00:09:30 - The Role of On-Call in Modern Engineering
00:11:29 - Insights from the Grace Hopper Celebration
00:13:56 - Mentorship and Team Dynamics
00:16:14 - Rapid Changes in Technology and Adaptation
00:18:39 - Automation, Observability, and Debugging Challenges
00:21:04 - Addressing the Talent Gap and Junior Engineer Growth
00:24:00 - Closing Thoughts and Where to Learn More
Follow Dr. Sally Wahba on Social Media
Twitter: https://x.com/sallyky
Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/sallywahba/
Sponsored by This Dot: thisdot.co
