Tech Lead Journal

In an insightful discussion, Preeti Somal, Senior VP of Engineering at Temporal and former leader at Yahoo and HashiCorp, explores the revolutionary concept of durable execution. She emphasizes how this model alleviates reliability issues, allowing developers to focus solely on business logic. Preeti also shares key findings from Temporal's State of Development Report, highlighting reliability as a primary concern for engineering teams. Additionally, she underscores the importance of nurturing a strong incident response culture and the challenges of adapting to new developer tools.

Laura Tacho, CTO of DX and expert in developer productivity, dives deep into the impact of AI adoption in engineering. She reveals the 'disappointment gap' between AI hype and reality, and why traditional metrics like acceptance rates can mislead leaders. Tacho introduces the AI Measurement Framework™, emphasizing utilization, impact, and cost. The discussion also highlights practical AI use cases that save time, the importance of treating AI agents as team extensions, and the biggest challenges AI has yet to solve beyond coding.

Gavin King, the creator of Hibernate and a key contributor to Jakarta EE, dives into the complexities of Object-Relational Mapping and why so many developers harbor mixed feelings about it. He shares the origin story of Hibernate, discussing early Java EE frustrations that sparked its creation. The podcast explores the importance of type safety, the evolution of Jakarta specifications, and critiques industry dogmas like DDD aggregates. Gavin emphasizes that architecture should organically develop from the code and highlights the value of healthy debate within engineering teams.

Greg Foster, CTO and co-founder of Graphite, shares insights on transforming code reviews for faster development. He reveals how small pull requests enhance feedback and how stacked PRs eliminate waiting times, improving team velocity. The conversation delves into the rise of AI in code reviews, advocating for automated checks in CI workflows. Foster highlights Graphite's unique strategies to achieve top-tier productivity and discusses the evolving landscape of hiring engineers with the advent of AI-assisted coding.

Emily Bache, an independent consultant and technical coach, shares insights on elevating software engineering through coaching. She discusses the Samman Method and ensemble programming, emphasizing their roles in enhancing team collaboration and code quality. Emily explains how AI can reinforce, rather than replace, fundamental engineering practices. She advocates for structured learning within work hours and cautions against common pitfalls in mentoring, showcasing the need for hands-on, collaborative coding as essential for modern development.

Michi Kono, CTO at Garner Health and former engineering leader at Meta, sheds light on the critical management systems that empower high-performing engineering teams. He discusses why organizations often slow down during hypergrowth, emphasizing accountability over mere code delivery. Michi shares tactics for designing effective org charts that enhance autonomy and foster a culture of learning from mistakes without blame. He also highlights when managers should step back from coding and the vital role of communication as teams scale.

Mohan Krishnan, Head of Engineering at Grab and former leader at Google, discusses building high-performing engineering teams in the AI era. He emphasizes the enduring value of foundational skills like TDD and system design, suggesting they become even more crucial alongside AI tools. Mohan shares insights on effective team dynamics using a 'sports team' analogy, advocating for hands-on leadership. He also addresses the unique tech challenges in Southeast Asia and offers career tips for professionals navigating AI in software development.

Kief Morris, a Distinguished Infrastructure Engineer at Thoughtworks and author of the O'Reilly book on Infrastructure as Code, shares his insights on modern cloud systems. He discusses the significant evolution of Infrastructure as Code over the past five years, stressing the need to align infrastructure decisions with business objectives. Kief highlights challenges in managing growing complexities, the rise of platform engineering, and compares tools like Terraform and OpenTofu. He also delves into the role of AI in infrastructure management, emphasizing a balance between innovation and governance.

Patrick Leung, CTO of Faro Health and ex-Google Duplex Engineering Lead, dives into the groundbreaking use of AI in clinical trials. He explores how AI can cut drug development time and costs dramatically while maintaining compliance with stringent regulations. Discussing challenges like AI hallucinations, Patrick emphasizes the need for human oversight. He also reflects on the evolution of AI technologies, the promise of artificial general intelligence, and offers practical advice for thriving in an AI-driven world. The conversation uncovers AI's true potential in transforming healthcare.

Ganesh Datta, co-founder and CTO of Cortex, discusses achieving engineering excellence through platform engineering. He shares insights from his journey, emphasizing the connection between engineering practices and business outcomes. Ganesh highlights the crucial role of leadership, clear metrics, and a supportive culture in driving operational efficiency. He dispels common misconceptions about internal developer platforms and explores how generative AI can enhance engineering processes and incident analysis. This conversation is packed with actionable strategies to transform engineering teams.