Farhan Thawar, VP and Head of Engineering at Shopify, reflects on the evolution of remote work, hiring strategies and the role of artificial intelligence in engineering. Farhan shares insights drawn from his extensive experience, including founding and scaling startups and contributing to shaping Shopify’s engineering culture.

Farhan discusses:

00:00 - Intro

00:35 - The evolution of remote work

05:41 - How Shopify integrates in-person connections

08:03 - Why structured in-office experiences benefit early talent

11:32 - Building trust in remote or hybrid work environments

12:30 - How Farhan leverages the advantages of remote work

13:35 - How to apply Shopify’s best practices to other companies

17:26 - Hiring generalists over specialists in early-stage companies

27:45 - How to set meaningful professional goals

35:18 - Why Shopify is hiring a thousand interns in 2025

38:23 - How Shopify is using AI in hiring

43:30 - How AI is transforming pair programming and coding interviews

48:09 - Cybersecurity today

Resources Mentioned:

Farhan Thawar -

https://www.linkedin.com/in/fnthawar/

Shopify | LinkedIn -

https://www.linkedin.com/company/shopify/

Shopify careers -

https://www.shopify.com/careers

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