Running a Remote Big Tech — with Farhan Thawar (Shopify)
Feb 22, 2024
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VP of Engineering at Shopify discusses remote work dynamics, VR meetings, pair programming, AI productivity, and engineering metrics. Emphasizes digital-first culture, unique collaboration, and balancing remote vs IRL. Insights on using VR for work, role of managers, and being an AI Centaur for enhanced productivity.
Shopify embraced remote work with 'ports' and VR meetings to optimize collaboration.
Pair programming at Shopify enhances productivity, code quality, and learning among engineers.
Technical expertise is valued at Shopify, with managers engaging in coding deep dives and pair programming.
Deep dives
Benefits of Pair Programming
Pair programming offers numerous benefits, including reducing distractions, increasing knowledge transfer, eliminating information silos, and promoting faster progress with fewer errors. Research reveals that this method incurs a cost of around 15%, yielding advantages such as improved code quality, happier engineers, enhanced learning, and accelerated development throughput.
Transition to Remote Work at Shopify
Shopify transitioned to a remote-first approach swiftly during the pandemic, eliminating ambiguity and embracing a future where smart individuals can work from anywhere. This shift required employees to set up proper remote workstations, while the company retained physical offices (now called 'ports') for occasional use and implemented designated times for team gatherings like bursts and hack days. The focus on asynchronous communication and remote tools optimized the remote work experience, allowing for global talent acquisition and flexible collaboration.
Challenges and Solutions of Pair Programming
Pair programming, akin to an underhand free throw in basketball, may seem unconventional but proves highly effective in software development. While some view it as inefficient due to two individuals on one computer, the collaborative approach in pair programming enhances productivity, knowledge sharing, faster error detection, and overall code quality. The initial adjustment phase can be demanding, but the method's long-term benefits, such as reduced errors, heightened learning, and increased happiness among engineers, showcase its effectiveness.
Importance of Technical Depth in Management Interviews
Having technical depth is crucial even in management roles at Shopify. Technical abilities are assessed through coding deep dives and pair programming, even for high-level positions like VPs. This ensures that candidates have a genuine passion for coding and getting into the details, reflecting Shopify's culture that values technical expertise across all levels.
Role of Engineering Managers in the Age of AI
Engineering managers are essential in guiding and supporting technical teams. By staying involved in technical details, managers can better assist their teams, escalate issues early, and facilitate problem-solving effectively. While AI tools like co-pilots enhance productivity, managers need to use them judiciously to augment rather than replace their expertise in providing strategic insights and support.
Farhan Thawar is VP of Engineering at Shopify, angel investor, and entrepreneur.
Shopify is a public company with thousands of employees, and one of the very few companies of its scale to be remote-first. While other big tech quietly issued RTOs, Shopify doubled down on processes and culture that allowed it to stay remote, or, in their own words: digital-first.
So, today, Shopify has ports instead of offices, does VR meetings, has a unique collaboration culture, and completely embraced AI for productivity. Here is everything we covered in the chat:
(00:00) Introduction
(05:49) Balancing Remote & IRL
(09:20) Remote Communication
(15:15) Remote vs IRL culture
(21:30) Using VR for meetings and work
(26:53) Pair Programming
(39:57) The role of managers
(46:20) Be an AI Centaur
(51:23) Engineering Productivity Metrics
(58:33) Q&A
