How a First Reddit Engineer Builds Strong Engineering Cultures with Jeremy Edberg

In this episode of the Leadership Exchange, host Tracy Lee welcomes Jeremy Edberg, CEO of DeVos and former first employee at Reddit, to discuss leadership, engineering culture, and team building. They review Jeremy's career journey from Reddit to Netflix and beyond, sharing insights on scaling engineering teams, the impact of culture on development practices, and hiring strategies. Jeremy reflects on the evolution of his management style, emphasizing the importance of human connection in leadership, while also sharing lessons learned from his time at companies with strong engineering cultures.

Chapters

00:00 - Introduction and Guest Welcome

00:48 - Jeremy’s Background and Career Journey

01:51 - Introduction to DeVos and Its Founders

02:30 - Throwback: Reddit Meetups and "Chad Berg" Chanting

03:05 - Rebuilding the Reddit Engineering Team

05:16 - Challenges of Scaling and Maintaining Reddit's Culture

07:08 - The Role of Code in Driving Team Culture

08:14 - Differences in Team Dynamics at Reddit and Netflix

09:07 - Working at Netflix vs. Cloudflare

09:38 - The "Sports Team, Not a Family" Philosophy at Netflix

11:21 - Understanding the Keeper Test at Netflix

14:27 - Evolving Netflix's Culture to Support Diversity and Inclusion

16:05 - Misconceptions About Netflix's Work Environment

17:17 - Work-Life Balance at Netflix: High Performance in a Chill Setting

20:28 - Key Elements of a Good Engineering Culture

23:09 - How Jeremy's Leadership Style Has Evolved

24:34 - Advice for Building Successful Engineering Teams

25:26 - Closing Remarks and Sponsor Thanks

26:13 - Where to Follow Jeremy Online

Follow Jeremy Edberg 

Twitter: https://x.com/jedberg

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jedberg/