The Engineering Leadership Podcast

Farnaz Azmoodeh, CTO at Linktree, shares her journey from Google to leading substantial projects at Snap. She discusses the necessity for engineering leaders to shift mindsets from delivery to discovery. Farnaz emphasizes the power of data-driven decision-making over anecdotal evidence and the art of pivoting strategy for fast, efficient cross-functional teams. She also highlights how AI is reshaping the collaboration between product, design, and engineering, and the emergence of trends in technology and proactive medicine that enhance user engagement.

Wade Chambers, an engineering leader with over 25 years of experience at companies like Twitter and Amplitude, shares insights on empowering engineering teams. He discusses the importance of fostering true ownership to boost innovation and performance. Wade highlights common traps leaders fall into and provides strategies for effective coaching and feedback. He delves into the dynamics of ownership, emphasizing the role of candid conversations and trust in restoring accountability. Listeners will learn how to align individual goals with organizational vision for transformative success.

Funmi Oludaiye, a Managing Director at Goldman Sachs, and Sasha Hall, an Engineering Manager at Planitar Inc, share valuable insights on engineering leadership. They delve into building authentic partnerships between engineering and business, overcoming departmental silos, and navigating complex stakeholder relationships. The discussion also highlights aligning technical debt with business value and the importance of strategic communication. Funmi and Sasha emphasize thoughtful decision-making and the need for a supportive community among engineering leaders.

Vinod Marur, SVP of Engineering at Databricks, shares his vast expertise from leading teams at Google and Rubrik. He discusses the need for leaders to recalibrate their priorities in dynamic environments, emphasizing the danger of routine. Vinod offers strategies for assessing core priorities and maximizing leverage on time management. He also talks about evolving hiring practices in the AI era, the importance of building accountability through team rituals, and how effective communication fosters a culture of strategic growth.

Jon Hyman, co-founder and CTO of Braze, brings a wealth of experience from his time at Bridgewater Associates to the conversation. He discusses the challenges of scaling leadership and team dynamics during early growth, emphasizing adaptability and effective management. Jon also dives into the evolution of product strategy in the mobile app landscape and the importance of understanding customer needs. The podcast touches on building a document-driven culture, the fusion of technical and relational dynamics in enterprise SaaS, and his current literary interests.

Rukmini Reddy, Senior Vice President of Engineering at PagerDuty, shares her insights on navigating change and uncertainty in tech leadership. She discusses the evolution of engineering roles post-pandemic, highlighting the rise of financial acumen and emotional intelligence. Reddy emphasizes the importance of asking the right questions to align teams with their mission and the necessity of creating safe spaces for open communication. Additionally, she introduces a seven-step framework to guide organizations through transitions, fostering a culture of resilience and adaptability.

Eliot Horowitz, Founder and CEO of Viam and co-founder of MongoDB, shares his insights on building robust platforms for AI and robotics. He discusses the challenges of merging hardware and software, emphasizing a user-centric approach that enhances developer experience. Eliot highlights Viam's potential to accelerate innovation in various industries and the importance of seamless APIs and modular systems. He also reflects on meaningful tech applications and the societal impact of engineering, blending personal philosophy with industry trends.

Join Kevin Stewart, an engineering executive with a knack for building robust remote teams, as he shares insights on transforming leadership and empowering teams. He discusses the critical difference between perceived and actual issues, emphasizing root cause analysis for effective decision-making. Kevin also outlines strategies for fostering autonomy, overcoming learned helplessness, and ensuring a customer-centric vision. His journey at Splice reveals the emotional impact of products on customers and the importance of aligning team values with organizational goals.

Join Maher Hanafi, a seasoned engineering leader from Betterworks, as he dives deep into the transformative power of AI in performance management. He shares his journey of implementing generative AI solutions, advocating for continuous learning and upskilling. Discover how AI can boost productivity while ensuring human-centric approaches in tech workplaces. Maher also discusses strategies for integrating AI within compliance-heavy environments and emphasizes the importance of team autonomy and fostering individual growth in this fast-evolving landscape.

ABOUT JIM PALMERJim Palmer is the Chief AI Officer at Dialpad. Previously he was CTO and Co-Founder of TalkIQ, a conversational intelligence start-up with expertise in real-time speech recognition and natural language processing, acquired by Dialpad in May of 2018. Prior to TalkIQ, he was the founding engineer on the eBay Now local delivery service.SHOW NOTES:Tips and cheat codes for navigating AI governance (3:30)Breaking down red teaming & adversarial testing in AI governance (8:02)Launching and scaling adversarial testing efforts (11:27)Unexpected benefits unlocked with adversarial testing (13:43)Understanding data governance and strategic AI investments (15:38)Building resilient AI from concept to customer validation (19:28)Exploring early feature validation and pattern recognition in AI (22:38)Adaptability in data management and ensuring safe, ethical data use while adapting to evolving legal and governance requirements (26:51)How to prepare data for safe and sustainable long-term use (30:02)Strategies for compliant data practices in a regulated world (32:43)Building data deletion systems with model training in mind (35:14)Current events and trends shaping adaptability and durability in the AI ecosystem (38:38)The role of a Chief AI Officer (41:20)Rapid fire questions (44:35)LINKS AND RESOURCESGenius Makers: The Mavericks Who Brought AI to Google, Facebook, and the World - With deep and exclusive reporting, across hundreds of interviews, New York Times Silicon Valley journalist Cade Metz brings you into the rooms where these questions are being answered. Where an extraordinarily powerful new artificial intelligence has been built into our biggest companies, our social discourse, and our daily lives, with few of us even noticing.This episode wouldn’t have been possible without the help of our incredible production team:Patrick Gallagher - Producer & Co-HostJerry Li - Co-HostNoah Olberding - Associate Producer, Audio & Video Editor https://www.linkedin.com/in/noah-olberding/Dan Overheim - Audio Engineer, Dan’s also an avid 3D printer - https://www.bnd3d.com/Ellie Coggins Angus - Copywriter, Check out her other work at https://elliecoggins.com/about/