Annie Vella, a Distinguished Engineer at Westpac NZ with 20 years of experience, delves into the identity crisis many software engineers face as AI reshapes their roles. She emphasizes the dangers of over-reliance on AI, warning it may compromise quality and hinder skill development. Annie discusses the need for engineers to adapt their skills beyond just coding, embrace AI as a team member, and balance rapid delivery with long-term quality. She also offers crucial advice for junior engineers entering this evolving landscape.
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insights INSIGHT
AI Shift in Developer Focus
AI coding assistants accelerate coding but shift focus toward reviewing and designing tasks.
Developers spend less time writing and testing code yet not enough additional time on reviewing or quality assurance.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Specialization Limits Engineer Growth
Annie recalls a React expert focusing only on technology without understanding the product domain.
This specialization may limit engineers as AI takes over coding tasks, risking detachment from solving real problems.
insights INSIGHT
New Bottlenecks in Software Development
Coding is no longer the bottleneck but rapid code generation creates challenges in requirements and code review stages.
Oversized pull requests and insufficient review time risk lowering delivery stability and software quality.
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Is AI taking over the craft of coding? Many engineers now face an identity crisis.
In the episode, Distinguished Engineer Annie Vella discusses her research on AI’s impact on software development. She explores the “software engineering identity crisis” as the craft of coding becomes automated. Annie warns that the seductive speed of AI tools can lead to lower quality and delivery instability, a trend supported by reports from DORA and GitClear. She also cautions that over-reliance on AI prevents engineers from gaining the hands-on experience needed for deep skill acquisition.
Key topics discussed:
How AI is reshaping the software development lifecycle
The software engineer’s professional identity crisis
The real danger of over-relying on AI tools
How to balance the seduction of speed with long-term quality
Crucial advice for junior engineers entering the industry
Why leaders must shift focus from speed to quality
The idea of treating AI as a team member instead of just a tool
Timestamps:
(00:00:00) Trailer & Intro
(00:02:32) AI Impact on Career and Software Engineering
(00:07:00) The Future of AI-Driven Software Engineering
(00:14:29) The Shift in the Role of Software Engineer
(00:22:13) When Writing Code is Not the Bottleneck Anymore
(00:32:04) The Danger of Over-Reliance on AI
(00:38:51) The Software Engineering Identity Crisis
(00:48:09) Advice for Junior Engineers in This Challenging Time
(00:53:34) The Shift in the Role of Engineering Management
(00:59:46) You Are Not Alone
(01:00:50) 3 Tech Lead Wisdom
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Annie Vella’s Bio Annie Vella is a Distinguished Engineer at Westpac NZ with two decades of experience in software engineering and technical leadership across various industries and countries.
Vella has returned to an engineering role after a period in management and is also a part-time Master’s student at the University of Auckland, researching the impact of AI on software engineering. She believes that technologies like Generative AI, LLMs, and Agentic AI will revolutionize the field and problem-solving in general.
Tech Lead Journal 