Preparing for Your First VP of Engineering Role | Honeycomb VPE, Emily Nakashima

On this week’s episode, host Conor Bronsdon sits down with Emily Nakashima, VP of Engineering at Honeycomb.io, to discuss how you can prepare to be a VP of Engineering, and how the role differs among companies. Being a VPE varies based on company size, culture, and the existing team's makeup, and Emily provides valuable advice for engineers aspiring to leadership positions.

Emily also discusses using personality tests for better team dynamics and the need for regular self-evaluation as an integral part of career advancement. The conversation closes by talking about the impact of AI on the workforce, the importance of aligning engineering and business goals, and the potential of AI to enhance rather than replace human skills.

Episode Highlights:

01:27 Why does Emily think there isn't a standard VP of Engineering role?
06:29 The archetypes of the VPE role
10:15 How does the VPE role change as an organization grows?
14:46 Preparing to become a VP of Engineering before you get the role
20:11 How you can use personality tests in organizational design
26:00 How is the VP of Engineering role changing in 2024?
30:53 Teams are having to accept realities about production software with regards to AI

Show Notes:

• Modern Practices for Goal Setting in Software Engineering 
• Emily Nakashima
• Emily Nakashima (@eanakashima.bsky.social) — Bluesky
• Observability for Distributed Services | Honeycomb
• StrengthsFinder 2.0 | EN - Gall

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