Engineering Culture by InfoQ

Building a Product-First Engineering Culture in the Age of AI

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Jul 18, 2025
Zach Lloyd, founder of Warp and former Google engineer, discusses the need for a product-first engineering culture. He emphasizes core values like honesty and user focus in shaping teams. Zach also highlights fostering ownership among engineers and adapting to AI in software development. He stresses the importance of integrating AI tools while maintaining code quality and foundational programming skills. Lastly, he calls for a revised computer science curriculum that balances traditional knowledge with practical skills in a rapidly changing tech landscape.
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ANECDOTE

Zach Lloyd's Career Journey

  • Zach Lloyd shared his career spanning 25 years, including roles at Google and as a startup founder.
  • His current focus is Warp, an AI-powered developer tool reimagining the command line terminal.
ADVICE

Publish Your Culture Publicly

  • Make your team's working culture visible to attract or repel potential candidates.
  • Use a public 'how we work' document as an operating system for internal alignment and hiring.
INSIGHT

Core Values Shape Culture

  • Core values like honesty, pragmatism, and product-focus shape engineering culture.
  • Product-first engineers prioritize user solutions over code elegance or technology trends.
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