Level-up Engineering

Level-up your software engineer career development through other professionals’ stories: meet Max Rudman, CEO of Prodly, who went from IC to CEO over the years and has even founded a startup of his own. He shares interesting details about his career development and gives valuable advice to people interested in a similar path. Sign up to the Level-up Engineering newsletter!In this interview we're covering:Max’s career development Skills for software engineering career developmentChoosing between different opportunities Is being CEO for everyone?Advice for aspiring managersAdvice for aspiring foundersChallenges of CEOsLegacy aimsExcerpt from the interview:"Both in entrepreneurship and product management, you have to say no to a lot more things than you say yes to. How to decide between a yes and a no boils down to what you’re focusing on: what kind of customers you’re serving or what problems you’re trying to solve. Based on this, you can differentiate between opportunities and see what would make your solution stand out in the market. At the beginning of the founding journey, your resources are usually very limited, so you’ll have to be very picky about what you say yes to."

Interview with Varun Mohan, CEO & Co-Founder of Exafunction and Codeium. He gives valuable insights on the considerations of AI deployment in the enterprise and shares his own thoughts and predictions on what the future holds for these models.Sign up to the Level-up Engineering newsletter!In this interview we're covering:Considerations of AI deploymentBenefits of deploying AI in the enterpriseConcerns regarding AI deploymentTypical mistakes when deploying AIExcerpt from the interview:"When I think about the last 40 years, there hasn’t been a sparsity of software in the world; there are just more and more software companies providing more and more value. Every ten years, we’re having larger IPOs, and more companies are building systems that can automate different parts of enterprises. There’s more software that can be consumed and generated across companies, but that doesn’t reduce the need for employees. It’ll just increase the value businesses can provide. Perhaps in the future, AI systems are going to understand more and more company-wide context over time, which is a big gap in their knowledge currently. When they’re able to piece together more information from your systems, your documents in the cloud and your other products, they’ll aid humans to be even more productive and perhaps even enable stronger cross-functional collaboration."

Dan Lines, CPO and Co-Founder of LinearB, talks about the importance of communicating engineering team's impact and provides tips on how to start. He discusses effective communication strategies in a remote work environment, the significance of data-driven communication, and the need to align the team with organizational goals and collaborate with other departments.

Interview with Joey Wilhelm, Security Engineer at Pinwheel. He talks about the benefits of open source software and gives great advice for companies who want to join the open source community. Sign up to the Level-up Engineering newsletter!In this interview we're covering:Getting to know open sourceBenefits of open source softwareOpen source vs. proprietary software from a security perspectiveCommon mistakes of releasing open source software Storytime: Becoming an open source advocateOpen source at PinwheelExcerpt from the interview:"There’s a common misconception about contributing to open source projects. A lot of people will say that it’s just altruism; you’re expected to work on projects for free. However, that’s not entirely true. By being active in the open source community, you’re building a public portfolio - even if you don’t work for prestigious companies like Google or Microsoft, you can contribute to their products, which improves your software engineer resume. As you build more, you’ll build an impressive library of contributions, which will help you stand out from the crowd in any job application. "

Interview with Yaron Perlman, author of the book DevStreams: Scaling Software Delivery. Naturally. He talks about the main ideas of DevStreams - a new paradigm for scaling software delivery. Sign up to the Level-up Engineering newsletter!In this interview we're covering:Defining DevStreamsMain ideas of the book DevStreamsDevStream’s impactWhat type of companies benefit most from DevStreamsImplementing DevStreams Common objections regarding DevStreamsExcerpt from the interview:"After publishing the book, some VPs told me they liked the concept, but didn’t find it realistic to have streams where everyone does everything proficiently. My answer is, how do you know? Have you tried it?When you start experimenting with the paradigm, you'll see that it’s not that far-fetched. Especially with today’s technological advancements in AI, it’s easier to pick up new skills than it was a year ago. We have so many tools available to make our work more effective, and our technology landscape is changing rapidly that it really merits a new paradigm. "

Interview with Alan Watkins, CEO and Founder of Complete. He talks about managing workplace stress through breathing techniques and overcoming our animal instincts.Sign up to the Level-up Engineering newsletter!

Interview with Morgan Teachworth, VP of Engineering at Cisco Meraki. He shares valuable insights on building and managing innovation-oriented teams.Sign up to the Level-up Engineering newsletter!In this interview we're covering:Defining innovationEncouraging innovation at workBuilding teams that prioritize innovationCommon pitfalls when focusing on innovation

Interview with Gopal Erinjippurath, CTO and Head of Product at Sust Global. He shares valuable insights on how to build and manage analytics engineering teams.Sign up to the Level-up Engineering newsletter!In this interview we're covering:Analytics engineering 101Success metricsAssembling analytics engineering teamsProcessesToolsCommon pitfallsExcerpt from the interview:"We’re a mission-driven team that wants to serve the environment and businesses as well. We’re looking at business impact and expertise, so we like to hire engineers who have the required skill set of climate modeling, remote sensing, machine learning and platform engineering and who also resonate with our mission. There’s an increased drive across junior and mid-level engineers to work in a climate-related field and to use technology to combat the climate crisis. There has never been a better time to get into the field of climate, and it benefits both parties. The companies are very lucky to have access to this kind of talent, and engineers who want to work in this field can choose from a lot of jobs recently."Click here to read the full interview!

Interview with Sophie Wade, Founder of Flexcel Network. She talks about quiet quitting and how empathy can help employees and leaders deal with difficult workplace situations. Sign up to the Level-up Engineering newsletter!In this interview we're covering:Defining quiet quittingQuiet quitting vs. Acting your wageQuiet quitting nowadays vs. in the pastHow to prevent quiet quitting as an employeeHow to prevent quiet quitting as a leaderExcerpt from the interview:"If a particular area of your job motivates you, you can tell your manager you’d like to do more of that. Offer some suggestions and see what you can do to contribute to the company in a way that keeps you motivated. It’s a win-win situation: not only will the company benefit from your work, but you can also surround yourself with enjoyable tasks and projects while improving your skillset, which makes you a better professional in your field. People may quiet quit because they had already made such suggestions to their bosses, but their ideas got shut down and they were stuck with a role that no longer fulfilled them. It might be true that the company is not interested in doing what they brought up, but too many nos take a toll on people’s motivation, and they might decide they aren’t going to bother coming up with new ideas anymore."Click here to read the full interview!

Hadi Hariri, VP of Developer Advocacy at JetBrains, discusses the challenge of information overload and the importance of interpersonal skills. They explore methods to track relevant information, JetBrain's approach to managing information, and the need for leaders to have a company-wide vision. They also highlight the challenges of sharing and finding information within a company, the importance of effective communication within teams, and strategies for managing information overload to ensure effective communication.