Engineering Culture by InfoQ

This is the Engineering Culture Podcast, from the people behind InfoQ.com and the QCon conferences. In this podcast Shane Hastie, Lead Editor for Culture & Methods spoke to Richard Bown about transitioning from management back to individual contributor roles, leading from any position, and creating humane engineering organizations. Read a transcript of this interview: https://bit.ly/48BF9v9 Subscribe to the Software Architects’ Newsletter for your monthly guide to the essential news and experience from industry peers on emerging patterns and technologies: https://www.infoq.com/software-architects-newsletter Upcoming Events: QCon AI New York 2025 (December 16-17, 2025) - SOLD OUT! https://ai.qconferences.com/ QCon London 2026 (March 16-19, 2026) QCon London equips senior engineers, architects, and technical leaders with trusted, practical insights to lead the change in software development. Get real-world solutions and leadership strategies from senior software practitioners defining current trends and solving today's toughest software challenges. https://qconlondon.com/ QCon AI Boston 2026 (June 1-2, 2026) Learn how real teams are accelerating the entire software lifecycle with AI. https://boston.qcon.ai The InfoQ Podcasts: Weekly inspiration to drive innovation and build great teams from senior software leaders. Listen to all our podcasts and read interview transcripts: - The InfoQ Podcast https://www.infoq.com/podcasts/ - Engineering Culture Podcast by InfoQ https://www.infoq.com/podcasts/#engineering_culture - Generally AI: https://www.infoq.com/generally-ai-podcast/ Follow InfoQ: - Mastodon: https://techhub.social/@infoq - X: https://x.com/InfoQ?from=@ - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/infoq/ - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/InfoQdotcom# - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/infoqdotcom/?hl=en - Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/infoq - Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/infoq.com Write for InfoQ: Learn and share the changes and innovations in professional software development. - Join a community of experts. - Increase your visibility. - Grow your career. https://www.infoq.com/write-for-infoq

Satish Kothapalli, a technology leader and CTO with over 25 years in life sciences, discusses the revolutionary impact of AI on drug development. He explains how automation can drastically shorten timelines, simplifying molecule discovery and documentation. Satish introduces the concept of vibe coding, revealing how AI acts as a co-worker for developers, altering their roles to focus on orchestration and fine-tuning. He emphasizes the need for upskilling both junior developers and business analysts to thrive in this new AI-enhanced environment.

This is the Engineering Culture Podcast, from the people behind InfoQ.com and the QCon conferences. In this podcast, Shane Hastie, Lead Editor for Culture & Methods, spoke to Joe Cassavaugh about building a sustainable solopreneur game development business, the importance of authenticity over conventional wisdom, and learning from both successes and failures in the digital content marketplace. Read a transcript of this interview: http://bit.ly/3KtvGy1 Subscribe to the Software Architects’ Newsletter for your monthly guide to the essential news and experience from industry peers on emerging patterns and technologies: https://www.infoq.com/software-architects-newsletter Upcoming Events: QCon AI New York 2025 (December 16-17, 2025) https://ai.qconferences.com/ QCon London 2026 (March 16-19, 2026) QCon London equips senior engineers, architects, and technical leaders with trusted, practical insights to lead the change in software development. Get real-world solutions and leadership strategies from senior software practitioners defining current trends and solving today's toughest software challenges. https://qconlondon.com/ QCon AI Boston 2026 (June 1-2, 2026) Learn how real teams are accelerating the entire software lifecycle with AI. https://boston.qcon.ai The InfoQ Podcasts: Weekly inspiration to drive innovation and build great teams from senior software leaders. Listen to all our podcasts and read interview transcripts: - The InfoQ Podcast https://www.infoq.com/podcasts/ - Engineering Culture Podcast by InfoQ https://www.infoq.com/podcasts/#engineering_culture - Generally AI: https://www.infoq.com/generally-ai-podcast/ Follow InfoQ: - Mastodon: https://techhub.social/@infoq - X: https://x.com/InfoQ?from=@ - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/infoq/ - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/InfoQdotcom# - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/infoqdotcom/?hl=en - Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/infoq - Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/infoq.com Write for InfoQ: Learn and share the changes and innovations in professional software development. - Join a community of experts. - Increase your visibility. - Grow your career. https://www.infoq.com/write-for-infoq

In this engaging discussion, Jon Kern, a systems-minded software consultant, and Anita Zbieg, CEO of Network Perspective, dive into how AI can boost team strengths while exposing weaknesses. They explore the importance of fundamental collaboration practices and holistic system thinking. Highlights include the role of AI in onboarding juniors, the need for rapid feedback, and the dangers of oversized changes. The duo emphasizes that AI might widen the gap between top-performing and struggling teams, calling for a return to Agile values to drive success.

Join Frankie Berkoben, an executive coach specializing in mid- to senior-level tech leaders, as he discusses transformative coaching for engineering leaders. He highlights how personal strengths can enhance team dynamics and reduce friction in management roles. Frankie advocates for viewing self-improvement as iterative development, encouraging small, reflective changes. He also delves into supporting neurodivergent team members, emphasizing tailored approaches over stereotypes. Discover how effective communication and flexibility can benefit all employees.

In this discussion, Luv Kapur, a staff engineering lead at Bit with a focus on composable platforms, shares insights on building flexible team structures. He emphasizes the importance of trust and transparency in fostering high-performing teams. Luv explores what composability means for organizations and how to create clearer, reusable capabilities. He also introduces the concept of an API-first approach for teams, helping engineers adapt and grow through fluid structures that promote skill development and collaboration across teams.

Charlotte de Jong Schouwenburg, a business psychologist and co-founder of Bravely, dives into the significance of brain science in communication within engineering teams. She emphasizes the need for technical experts to acquire human skills, as relying on innate abilities is unrealistic. Charlotte offers insights on utilizing emotional intelligence and suggests that emotions can guide effective decision-making. She also shares practical techniques like nonjudgmental summarizing to manage conflicts, and advocates for building trust through casual interactions to enhance team dynamics.

In this engaging discussion, Marcos Arribas, an engineering leader at Statsig with a solid foundation from Facebook, emphasizes the importance of autonomy in engineering culture. He shares insights on balancing autonomy and guidance to prevent chaos and proposes using feature gating for safe, rapid rollouts. Marcos highlights the value of hiring junior engineers to foster future leaders and discusses how employing AI can streamline productivity. He also stresses the need for ownership among engineers, promoting a culture of responsibility and proactive product enhancement.

Tameem Hourani, an engineering leader known for his work in operations and resilience, discusses the importance of a blameless culture in engineering. He shares lessons from a major outage that taught him to prioritize system resilience over blame. Tameem emphasizes the role of radical transparency in building trust and high-performing teams. He also talks about nudging cultural change from any level and highlights the impact of hackathons on team dynamics and community engagement, demonstrating how technology can drive social good.

Shannon Mason, Chief Strategy Officer at Tempo Software, dives into the real cost of chasing 100% utilization. With a rich background in product and engineering, she reveals how this obsession leads to cognitive overload and burnout. Shannon explains the neuroscience behind focus and introduces game-changing tactics like time-blocking to enhance productivity. She emphasizes the importance of balancing beneficial slack time with idle waiting and shares insights on how leaders can foster healthier work environments by making strategic adjustments.