The Pragmatic Engineer

Balint Orosz, Founder and CEO of Craft, shares his journey in designing user-friendly software. He discusses the complexities of blending engineering with a design-first approach. Balint emphasizes the importance of dynamic animations in enhancing UI experiences and the emotional connections users form with their tools. He reflects on navigating from startup culture to corporate challenges, the significance of small teams, and how AI is shaping modern software development. His insights challenge conventional views on engineering and design in tech.

Manu Cornet, a senior software engineer and cartoonist renowned for his tech-themed comics, shares his unique insights in this conversation. He discusses his viral org chart comic that humorously depicts Big Tech's complexities. Manu reveals how Google's 20% time policy spurred innovation and his comic that predicted the failure of Google Stadia. He also reflects on the atmosphere at Twitter post-Elon Musk's acquisition, highlighting the chaotic environment and its impact on employees. Expect laughs and thought-provoking commentary on tech culture!

In this engaging discussion, Dr. Nicole Forsgren, a leading expert in developer productivity and co-creator of the DORA and SPACE frameworks, dives into the complexities of measuring productivity in software development. She explores the importance of holistic metrics that prioritize developer well-being and communication. Nicole shares insightful strategies for improving team dynamics, the impact of AI tools on workflows, and the value of investment in platform teams to boost productivity. It's a treasure trove of knowledge for tech leaders and engineers alike!

Ashutosh Agrawal, former Chief Architect of JioCinema and current Staff Software Engineer at Google DeepMind, shares insights from architecting a live streaming system that achieved a world record with 32 million streams. He discusses the complexities of video streaming architecture, the trade-offs in optimizing performance, and the challenges of capacity planning, especially in the APAC region. Ashutosh also reveals why he dislikes APMs and offers valuable advice for improving systems design expertise. Tune in for a tech deep dive!

Chip Huyen, a computer scientist and author with experience at Netflix and NVIDIA, joins the conversation to explore AI Engineering. They discuss how AI Engineering differs from Machine Learning Engineering and express caution over fine-tuning tactics. The episode highlights practical steps to build AI applications and emphasizes the value of structured learning paired with project-based methods. Chip also shares insights into deploying AI for customer service and the importance of human oversight in integrating AI into business processes.

Jonas Tyroller, co-developer of the indie game Thronefall, shares his journey from concept to creation in the world of game development. He discusses the importance of rapid prototyping, revealing why he spent months refining game ideas in just days. Jonas explains the workflows using Unity and addresses the challenges of game testing without traditional methods. He highlights how he integrates AI tools like ChatGPT to streamline processes and offers tips on making games that sell in a competitive market.

Charity Majors, co-founder and CTO of Honeycomb and observability expert, shares her insights on the evolving landscape of observability. She discusses the concept of Observability 2.0, emphasizing the shift to unified storage and the critical role of platform teams. Charity critiques the overloaded term DevOps, explains the impact of cardinality on observability costs, and highlights how OpenTelemetry mitigates vendor lock-in. She argues for the necessity of strong observability before integrating AI code, making a compelling case for its importance in modern software engineering.

Michael Novati, Co-founder and CTO of Formation and former top code committer at Meta, shares fascinating insights about his journey through Meta’s engineering culture. He discusses the 'coding machine' archetype and its impact on engineering evaluations. Listeners will appreciate his tips for navigating career progression and preparing for technical interviews. Anecdotes about redesigning internal tools and beating Mark Zuckerberg in Risk add a personal touch, making this a must-listen for aspiring tech professionals.

Blake Stockman, a former tech recruiter at Google, Meta, and Uber, now runs his own recruitment agency and studies law. He shares eye-opening insights on the opaque hiring processes at major tech companies. Blake reveals tips on navigating salary negotiations and why candidates shouldn’t disclose salary expectations too early. He discusses the unique dynamics of recruiting for startups versus big tech. Additionally, he emphasizes the power of authentic relationships between recruiters and candidates to improve hiring success.

Sean Goedecke, a Staff Engineer known for his roles at Zendesk and GitHub, shares insights on successfully shipping projects in large tech organizations. He discusses the significance of aligning engineering efforts with business goals and the dual skills needed for project success. The conversation highlights the transformative role of Generative AI in enhancing collaboration among teams, as well as the challenges of balancing developer metrics with customer satisfaction. Sean also emphasizes effective communication and engagement to overcome common project hurdles.