The Peterman Pod Meta Senior Staff Eng (IC7) On Zuck Stories, Rapid Career Growth, Code Machine Archetype
21 snips
Jul 11, 2025 
Michael Novati, a former Senior Staff Engineer at Meta, shares his fascinating journey of rapid career growth, achieving a senior position by age 27. He reveals pre-IPO stories about working with Mark Zuckerberg and discusses the critical role of code committers at Meta. The conversation delves into how large language models might reshape coding and the evolving engineering culture from a chaotic to a more balanced approach. Novati also reflects on the importance of teamwork, personal growth, and the delicate balance between talent and hard work in career advancement.
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Move Fast Philosophy Explained
- Facebook's "move fast and break things" was about breaking norms, not recklessness.
- This culture fostered first principles thinking and innovative product building.
The Weekly Novati Newsletter
- Michael wrote an internal popular newsletter called The Weekly Novati to foster openness.
- Some controversial posts caused friction but also influenced company decisions like opening a South San Francisco office.
Zuck's Early Coding Stories
- Mark Zuckerberg wrote early code including an emoji reaction feature during a hackathon in 2009.
- Michael worked with him personally and witnessed Zuck merge code during an intense lockdown period in 2010.