Level-up Engineering

Transforming teams doesn’t go without its challenges.Let’s look at Tinder’s example. In this episode, Chris O'Brien, Director of Engineering at Tinder, shares his insights on building and leading engineering teams, particularly focusing on turning around existing teams. He discusses transforming teams, transitioning into a leadership role, Tinder’s culture and hiring process and a lot more.Sign up to the Level-up Engineering newsletter!In this interview we're covering:Building a new team by turning another one aroundTransitioning into a leadership roleTinder’s cultureKeeping business, customer and team needs alignedTinder’s hiring processExcerpt from the interview:“Change isn't easy for anyone, especially in the workplace where stability and predictability matter. Switching teams suddenly can be unsettling, and it takes time for people to adapt and build trust with their new colleagues. That's why I've always believed in prioritizing relationship-building. It's something my mentor taught me early on, and it's proven to be invaluable. When there's already a foundation of trust and camaraderie, transitions become smoother, and teams become stronger.”

Scaling engineering teams can happen in a lot of different ways. Let’s take a look at a real-life example, how Fleetio scaled their product and team over the years.Their Principal Software Engineer, Richard Young shares what challenges they faced, the strategies they implemented and gives valuable tips to those who consider joining or scaling a startup. Sign up to the Level-up Engineering newsletter!In this interview we're covering:Fleetio’s approach to scalingFleetio’s approach to hiringMentorship programsScaling as a startupCross-functional collaborationBonus advice for scaling engineering teamsAdvice for engineers joining startupsExcerpt from the interview:“Unlike many startups driven by external investor pressure to rapidly expand, Fleetio charted its own course, prioritizing autonomy and organic growth. This autonomy allowed us to make decisions aligned with our vision and pace of development, a significant draw for me when I joined the company.Navigating the demands of a small engineering team posed its own set of challenges. With just a handful of us, balancing the delivery of customer features with support across various departments like sales, marketing, and product marketing became crucial. Our engineering efforts weren't limited to coding; we had to be nimble in assisting other teams to ensure customer satisfaction and sustained growth.”

Liam Martin, Co-Founder of Time Doctor, debunks myths around remote work and shares valuable tips on managing remote engineering teams so they remain well-aligned in an asynchronous environment. Sign up to the Level-up Engineering newsletter!In this interview we're covering:Finding unbiased informationSocial implicationsState of remote workingAsynchronous team managementRemote work is here to stayExcerpt from the interview:"If you try to force employees back to the office, you'll likely end up with a team of B players, as the top talent will have the freedom to choose how they want to work. Right now, it's a seller's market, especially for engineers.For managers uncomfortable with leading a remote engineering team, I don't have any comforting solutions. The reality is, if you insist on running your engineering team from the office, it's likely to fail. It's a tough truth, but there's no way around it."

Ian Tien, CEO and Co-Founder of Mattermost, talks about these core principles and their impact on his company. He highlights the importance of customer obsession, self-awareness, transparency and earning trust, just to name a few.Sign up to the Level-up Engineering newsletter!In this interview we're covering:Customer-centric approach and its impactEngineering principlesFollowing the engineering principles in day-to-day processesStories of the engineering principles in real life The role of managersFinding the right engineering principles for MattermostAre engineering principles set in stone?Excerpt from the interview:“Great companies are always changing and improving. We never reach a point where we say, "That's it, we've learned everything we need to know." Our values and principles are always evolving as we learn more and as our needs change. For example, we used to have a principle called high standards. It was important when we were struggling with quality issues early on. But as we improved our quality and introduced other principles like earned trust, having high standards started to cause confusion.High standards were sometimes in conflict with our other values. For instance, it clashed with customer obsession when we needed to release features quickly. It also conflicted with high impact when we focused too much on polishing things instead of delivering important changes. So, we decided to remove high standards from our principles. We realized that its role could be filled by other values and that it was causing more confusion than clarity.This shows that our values aren't set in stone. We're always willing to reassess and make changes when needed. Our goal is to create a culture that meets the needs of our team and our customers both now and in the future.”

Gil Broza, Value Delivery & Agile Leadership Expert, gives actionable advice for leaders who want truly great product development. He emphasizes the importance of putting people first, creating a culture of continuous improvement and a lot more.Sign up to the Level-up Engineering newsletter!In this interview we're covering:Why isn’t product development great yet?Improving your software delivery system step by stepPutting people first in practiceThe right mindset for better product deliveryValue delivery system - Next stepsFitness for purposeRevising your value delivery systemReal-life examples of the strategiesExcerpt from the interview:"Success in software development requires continuous improvement, yet many companies seem to plateau after adopting certain methodologies. Few actively strive to enhance their practices throughout the development lifecycle. New methodologies like Scrum, Kanban, and DevOps emerge, but their adoption is often partial and not fully effective. Implementing changes can create unintended consequences, leading to stalled progress. (...)Oftentimes, there's no unified approach to developing successful products, which is concerning for the industry's future success."

Magda Miu, Senior Engineering Manager at Adobe, discusses the importance of mentoring and shares her experiences as both a mentor and mentee. She highlights the benefits of mentoring, explains how she created a program at Adobe, and offers tips for others looking to organize something similar in their organization.Sign up to the Level-up Engineering newsletter!In this interview we're covering:Magda’s personal experience with mentoringHow to seek mentorsMagda’s mentoring program at AdobeKey takeaways from the programExcerpt from the interview:"Many people view mentoring as a one-way street, and understanding that it’s actually a two-way street only comes after you’ve been on both sides: being a mentee and a mentor later on. As a mentee, you may think your mentors won’t gain anything from helping you, but the reality is different. Being a mentor improves your communication skills, so that you can resonate with all sorts of people. You also gain knowledge, because your mentee will share stories and challenges from their industry. If there’s an age gap between the mentor and mentee, it’s also a chance to get new perspectives from a different age group. Last but not least, the feeling of helping others and giving back is just extremely rewarding. It’s an amazing feeling to see your mentee improve in their career."

Dave Yeager, Director of Data Infrastructure at Recurve, shares aspects of healthy organizations, lists some signs of unhealthy ones and gives you actionable tips that you can implement today to make your company a better place to work at. Sign up to the Level-up Engineering newsletter!In this interview we're covering:Creating healthy work environments in bigger vs. smaller organizationsSome aspects of a healthy cultureSpotting an unhealthy cultureThe impact of managersAdvice for managersExcerpt from the interview:“One thing I find very interesting about continuous integration is that it only works if the tests are successful. However, there are endless stories about engineers not understanding why the release failed on the test, so they change the test itself. It’s a good example of a broken company culture - instead of being vulnerable and admitting there’s an unsolved problem that the team needs to address, we just twist the tests around to meet a deadline. This way, nobody’s going to learn anything. Pull requests should be an opportunity for engineers to walk each other through the task, discuss solutions and overcome potential hurdles.”

Mayakrishnan Chakkarapani, Senior Director of Software Engineering at Salesforce, shares interesting insights on how his organization uses Agile to meet business goals and empower developers while doing so. Sign up to the Level-up Engineering newsletter!In this interview we're covering:Agile in SalesforceSome benefits of implementing Agile What to keep in mind when implementing AgileHow to empower developers when following AgileSetting up and managing virtual teamsExcerpt from the interview:"View your organization as a doctor and your customers as patients; getting your customers’ desired business outcomes means you treated a patient. If one of your patients needs surgery, you need to focus on ensuring they recover as quickly as possible. Agile is nothing but an operational procedure ensuring you’re doing the operation methodically and iteratively.  It means you’re running a diagnosis first, then you come up with various techniques, and finally, you perform the operation the best way possible.  But just because you have a thorough pre-surgery process, it doesn’t mean you can neglect postoperative care. You still have to monitor the patient, and if something seems off, you have to do the process all over again. A lot of times, I’ve seen people taking Agile for granted, thinking it’ll solve everything on its own without thinking about the culture or empowering their teams. It leads them to just force people to do more, causing lots of engineers to burn out eventually. What happens with these dysfunctional organizations is that the operation may succeed because they followed Agile, but the patient still died."

Robert Hodges, CEO of Altinity, discusses various important aspects of open source software development. He talks about the decisions every company should make before embarking on an open source journey, the unresolved issues within the community, some interesting predictions about the future of OSS, and a lot more. Sign up to the Level-up Engineering newsletter!In this interview we're covering:Robert’s open source journeyEarly vs. current principlesThe benefits of open sourceCurrent trends in the open source communityOpen source concerns & adviceMain challenges in the future of open sourceExcerpt from the interview:"Releasing your software openly and letting people do anything they want to do with it definitely scares some people. Maybe it’s less of an issue for developers who are just writing a piece of code - as an individual, if someone finds my work useful, I’m pretty happy about it. However, when businesses make their software open source, they might worry about others using it to build a competing product.The problem is, open source software is typically licensed in a way that you can do anything you want with it. You can build a new business out of it, competing against the people who wrote the code in the first place. This can cause real tension, and it’s not fully resolved at this point within the community. To grasp this issue from a philosophical standpoint, Cicero claims that there’s never a conflict between your own interests and doing the right thing. If you shape the problem the correct way, you can do the right thing, and that can also serve you at the same time."

Peter Anderton, Founder of Internal Alignment, shares actionable tips to become a better leader by creating alignment, fighting your own ego, improving your listening skills and appreciating the differences within your team.Sign up to the Level-up Engineering newsletter!In this interview we're covering:Strategies for leadersCreating true diversity comes down to truly appreciating differences  Presenting constructive criticismMore tips for leadersCommon mistakesExcerpt from the interview:"A lot of people talk about leadership as if there’s a magic tool that’ll make everything fall into place. Here’s a secret: it doesn’t exist. In fact, looking for another tool or another technique to solve all of our management problems just creates even more confusion for teams. We need to stop looking for the secret tool and realize that leadership is about mindset. It isn’t a hat you put on when you come into work; it’s the way you think. Until leaders fully grasp this rule, attentive listening might remain a challenge. Leaders will probably think they’re great listeners, but their teams would say otherwise."

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."

Interview with Dan Lines, CPO and Co-Founder of LinearB. He talks about the importance of representing engineering teams and gives valuable advice on how to start communicating your team’s impact.Sign up to the Level-up Engineering newsletter!In this interview we're covering:The importance of communicating your engineering team’s impact Tips to get started on representing your engineersCommunication channels to useTypical mistakesStorytime: Founding LinearB to track KPIsExcerpt from the interview:"We’re in the golden era of engineering leadership. I don’t think there’s ever been a better time to be VP of Engineering or a manager or director. The reason is, a lot of companies are product-focused, and software is the key to their success - when you’re an engineering leader in that environment, the business is relying on your expertise a lot. There’s a stereotype that executives tell engineering teams what they want, and they just build it without any desire to be at board meetings and have a say in business-level goals. That’s not the case anymore. It’s becoming more and more expected from engineering leaders to be actively involved in business discussions, as they drive one of the most impactful and expensive departments of the company. Being part of these conversations also helps tech leaders allocate their engineering resources more effectively."

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!

Interview with Hadi Hariri, VP of Developer Advocacy at JetBrains. He talks about the challenge of dealing with the constant influx of information, creating processes to manage information overload, and the importance of interpersonal skills in the workplace.Sign up to the Level-up Engineering newsletter!In this interview we're covering:Defining information overload Dealing with information overloadPossible drawbacks of poor information managementMethods to track relevant informationDealing with information overload as EMs and ICsJetBrain's approach to managing informationFinding the golden meanExcerpt from the interview:"Tooling doesn’t help you decide what to push and what to pull, because the issue isn’t rooted in your tech stack. It’s a people problem, and it has to be approached as such. When we talk about leadership and management, one of the characteristics that a leader must have is being able to see the bigger picture. They don’t just focus on the team they manage, but how their work relates to other teams’ work inside the company, and how that relates to products and services. Having this company-wide vision contributes to deciding what’s important and what’s unnecessary noise for each team."Click here to read the full interview!

Interview with Rod Garcia, VP of Engineering at Slack. He talks about the importance of understanding the big picture before implementing processes, shares the steps he uses to determine if a process needs improvement, and tells stories of process management from previous projects and from his current workplace.Sign up to the Level-up Engineering newsletter!In this interview we're covering:Process management 101Creating engaging processesMaking sure your processes workCommon mistakes in process managementAutomating processes at SlackCreating more efficient and engaging processes - StorytimeExcerpt from the interview:"We often feel the need to balance every confusing behavior with a process. The outcome isn’t great because a process doesn’t improve human behavior. Instead of processes, behavior problems can be solved by coaching conversations or retrospective team meetings. Processes enable us to collaborate much easier, but it’s the trust among teammates that powers the process. These two aspects have a snowball effect: when the challenges in behavior continue despite having a process in place, the team gets frustrated, which causes even more problems, so they introduce additional processes. It becomes a slippery slope, and it doesn’t help teams to do their work effectively."Click here to read the full interview!

Interview with James Stanier, Director of Engineering at Shopify. He talks about setting yourself up for success by planning for the unexpected, goal- and achievement tracking and keeping your calendar under control. Sign up to the Level-up Engineering newsletter!In this interview we're covering:Reasons to manage your energy, not your timeTips to manage your energyAspects of managing your energy, not your time Energy management for senior leaders vs. ICsCommunication with colleagues while managing your energyExcerpt from the interview:"I have flexibility over my calendar. I’m in a high-intensity environment, but I have more time than I used to. I have noticed that my previous habits didn’t suit my current situation, and I realized that managing my energy was more important than managing my time. "Click here to read the full interview!

Interview with Steven Lopez, VP of Engineering, Technology and Operations at Deem. We go through real life examples and take a deep dive into choosing the right tech stack for your business and team, especially while leading a digital transformation.Sign up to the Level-up Engineering newsletter!In this interview we're covering:Parts of a tech stackChoosing a tech stack for a project vs. digital transformationOther tools to consider when choosing a tech stackHow to choose a tech stack connected to company valuesThe process of digital transformationCommon mistakes in digital transformationStory of choosing Deem’s tech stackExcerpt from the interview:"You need to make sure to customize the tech stack according to the company’s industry. Each industry has different needs when it comes to choosing the right tech stack. For example, in fields that use credit cards, you have to take PCI security standards into account.Ten to 15 years ago, digital transformations were different. People came up with a tech stack, and they would implement it right away. Technologies are moving so fast nowadays that I recommend defining the tech stack only after you do your due diligence and digital transformation experts have looked at your company thoroughly.In the age of agile implementations, we have to be flexible enough to try new things. We set hypotheses, and we try out whether they work, and we make necessary updates."Click here to read the full interview!

Interview with Álvaro Moya, Founder of LIDR.co. He shares his approach to building high-performance teams. He talks about the importance of clearly defined values and goals within the company, and shares which areas can be improved to foster high performance.Sign up to the Level-up Engineering newsletter!In this interview we're covering:Defining high performance Measuring high performance in software engineeringBuilding high-performance teamsImproving a team's performance Priorities in high-performance teams Advice for leaders on building high-performance teamsSpotting high performers Building a high-performance team from scratchExcerpt from the interview:"Code is easy to alter to make it work better. Doing the same with people takes a lot of time and effort. The more people you have on your team, the more difficult your job is as a leader. You’ll have to make a conscious effort to allocate time for your team.If you want to create a high-performance atmosphere, you have to be consistent. Day after day, you have to be clear about what you value and what you don’t tolerate. Your team will align with these values, and you’ll create psychological safety and a collaborative work environment as a result."Click here to read the full interview!

Interview with Sergej Kunz, Co-founder of 1inch Network. He shares valuable advice on how to start a DAO, and talks about his own experience creating such organization in the DeFi space.Sign up to the Level-up Engineering newsletter!In this interview we're covering:DAO 101The story of 1inch NetworkLessons from starting a DAOParticipating in 1inch NetworkCommunication within the networkExcerpt from the interview:"We built our project over two nights, and we didn’t sleep at all. We went through the hackathon, and pitched our idea to everyone. Someone said that it was going to be the next big thing. A few days later, we recognized that people started using 1inch. They did swaps because they got better rates there than on other platforms. It became famous because we solved a problem with it. When you build something that solves a problem, people will use it because it helps."Click here to read the full interview!

Interview with Lloyd Moore, VP of Engineering at Blockdaemon. He talks about building and keeping well-aligned teams, planning for success, and reacting to the quick changes of the blockchain field. Sign up to the Level-up Engineering newsletter!In this interview we're covering:Introducing BlockdaemonPreparing for scaling Building successful teamsOutsourcing 101Leadership challenges at BlockdaemonResponding to market changes and competitorsExcerpt from the interview:"Having a plan is better than no plan, even if there are some obstacles while executing it. Our plan was to be in a position where we could pivot depending on market needs. We’ve always tried to make plans that enabled us to grow organically instead of creating a grand plan for the next few years. We’ve built some of our components knowing that we may or may not need them in the future, but they allowed us to react to market changes as they were happening."Click here to read the full interview!

Interview with Somer Esat, Senior Engineering Manager at Blizzard. He talks about the role of engineering managers in engineer coaching and career development.Sign up to the Level-up Engineering newsletter!In this interview we're covering:Managers in engineer coachingDaily engineer coachingCoaching engineers in their career developmentSteps in engineers' career developmentCoaching engineers to be flexibleCoaching engineers when choosing tracksChallenges of the leadership trackExcerpt from the interview:"The key is that you’re working with people; they’re not just resources. People have things that happen in their lives, within and outside of work as well. Both are important, because they determine how they feel. You must be ready to manage your team’s feelings. They’re humans, and sometimes they’ll be more excited to be at work, and other times, they’ll be more focused on their personal lives. Engineering managers can ensure that the team is able to talk about these feelings. If you’re not mindful of that, you might as well have robots working with you."Click here to read the full interview!

Interview with Jehanzeb Khan, Senior Software Engineering Manager at Electronic Arts. He shares his tips and experience on implementing OKR performance management.Sign up to the Level-up Engineering newsletter!In this interview we're covering:OKR performance management 101OKRs in practiceOKR-driven vs. non-OKR-driven organizationsChoosing the right goal-setting methodIntroducing OKRs to your teamCommon OKR performance management mistakesExcerpt from the interview:"A few years ago, we were trying to shift to a more quantitative approach in performance management. We wanted to see how the input from engineers added up and how they contributed to the quality and the value of our product. (...)We realized that setting up SMART goals - Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound goals - wouldn’t be as aligned. For example, we wanted to be the best place for the best people, and provide the best opportunities, but it was hard to set the goals to achieve all these aims. Being “the best place for the best people” is a difficult goal to measure for anyone who’s not a manager working directly with people. It’s challenging to break it down into actionable steps."Click here to read the full interview!

Interview with Ritendra Datta, Director of Engineering at Meta. He gives valuable advice on improving cross-functional collaboration by holding empathy sessions and scaling cross-functional teams mindfully. Sign up to the Level-up Engineering newsletter!In this interview we're covering:Different cross-functional rolesCross-functional collaboration in practiceTips to improve cross-functional collaborationEncouraging respect among cross-functional partners Cross-functional empathy sessionsCommon mistakes during cross-functional collaborationScaling cross-functional teamsInvolving management in growing cross-functional teamsHiring leaders for scalingExcerpt from the interview:"We have cross-functional empathy sessions, where people get together for 4 hours and represent all cross functions. The key tech lead, an IC, a manager, a product manager, a data scientist and a UX researcher will meet somewhere outside of the office, and spend the day talking to each other.They could discuss what they do on a daily basis, and what’s frustrating about it. The representatives of each function gain a better understanding of the different positions, and why the work of each function is valuable and challenging in its own way. Every time we have these cross-functional empathy sessions, everyone goes home humbled by what others are doing and the struggles they’re facing. They realize that everyone is working hard. They often describe it as “an eye-opening experience.” "Click here to read the full interview!

Interview with Tyler Hartley, Director of Software Engineering at Johnson & Johnson. He talks about the philosophies, habits and challenges of truly agile organizations.Sign up to the Level-up Engineering newsletter!In this interview we're covering:The definition of agileCharacteristics of agile organizationsTruly agile practicesBehaviours to encourage When not to choose agileAgile products at J&JChallenges of agile organizationsCommon mistakesBecoming an agile organization - J&J's storyMeasures of success in an agile environmentExcerpt from the interview:"Our team was working on a video recording feature, and we thought that including a passcode would be useful. Surgeons would have exclusive access to the recording tool, and they could ensure that they were the only ones who could start and stop the video.The feedback we got was an unequivocal no. They told us that they wouldn't care about pushing buttons in that high-stress environment, and that they would probably put the passcode on a sticky note on the device, making it pointless. We removed the feature because it didn’t add value. It only created friction."Click here to read the full interview!

Interview with Steve Tauber, CTO at madewithlove. He shares his secrets to productive IT audits from preparation to execution. Sign up to the Level-up Engineering newsletter!In this interview we're covering:The basics of tech auditsDifferent approaches to IT auditsMaking the most out of the IT audit processFlexmail's tech audit storyWhat auditors observeHow to prepare for an IT auditExcerpt from the interview:"We were teaching people how to communicate in a more agile way, and to collaborate effectively. We made sure the code was well-tested, and that everything was documented so we didn’t lose important information.It was more about team shaping and making sure that the work was flowing in a proper way. Of course, there were technical challenges as well, but those were manageable.Since then, the company has grown immensely. We worked with them for a long time, but we’ve stepped away, and they’re thriving.For us, this is success. They took the lessons to heart, they understood our philosophy, and they continue to build on it."Click here to read the full interview!

Interview with Pau Minoves, CTO at Typeform. He talks about leaders' role in managing culture change in the workplace during rapid growth in a company's scaleup phase.Sign up to the Level-up Engineering newsletter!In this interview we're covering:Establishing the right environment for growthCulture change management as a leaderBenefits of strong company cultureChallenges of culture change in the workplaceIntroducing new standards Importance of team autonomyScaling tipsExcerpt from the interview:"When I joined Typeform, there was 20% time dedicated for personal projects on Fridays. It wasn’t working. People try to do things, but there is always somebody missing, and you lose context from Friday to Friday. So we tried a different approach. Instead of working on those projects on Fridays, we dedicated the last 10 days of the quarter to them. Suddenly, people got their Fridays back to do their normal work. On the other hand, they dedicate all their attention to their side projects in these dedicated sprints. During the side project sprints,  on Mondays, we kicked off ideas, and had the demo on the second Friday. It blew our minds: without even asking, around 60% of the projects were product oriented."Click here to read the full interview!

State of Engineering Management 2022 reportInterview with Dylan Hansen, Senior Director of Engineering Enablement & Engagement at Salesforce dicussing the results of the State of Engineering Management 2022 report. We analyze the most interesting findings to get more insight and commentary from a fellow engineering leader.In this interview we're covering:Self-improvement in leadershipHiring and retentionPeople and performance managementEngineering brandRemote workSign up for the Level-up Engineering newsletter!

Interview with David Siegel, CEO at Meetup. He talks about ways the leaders at Meetup and he has been utilizing to motivate employees and combat the Great American Resignation.Sign up to the Level-up Engineering newsletter!In this interview we're covering:Takeaways from the pandemicImproving employee retention and motivationCommunication in a hybrid environmentSupporting leaders at MeetupImproving work-life balanceBuilding a communityCommunicating your mission rightExcerpt from the interview:"I received an email a few days ago from a Meetup organizer. The subject line said, ”Thanks for Meetup.”The email read, "David, I'm grateful for Meetup. My mom is in the hospital, and she's probably going to die. Because of all the great friends I've made through running my groups, I'm not alone. People come over to support me at this difficult time. Thank you!"This is a real story. Every few weeks, I get a few powerful emails like this. As a leader, you need to connect with your customers, and you need to find ways to tell these stories to your team, so they connect with the customers as well."Click here to read the full interview!

Interview with Charles Roman, Technical Director at Respawn Entertainment. He talks about setting up, leading, and scaling the engineering team behind Respawns' upcoming Star Wars FPS with no official title yet.Sign up to the Level-up Engineering newsletter!In this interview we're covering:The path to Respawn EntertainmentAdapting to remote managementHiring video game engineersProcess changesUtilizing feedback in video game engineeringExcerpt from the interview:"Video game development is a cross-disciplinary process. You have artists, designers, and engineers, and you have to keep them aligned. For example, an artist may do something that impacts the performance of the game, so you have to get in front of these problems.This is difficult to manage with a team of 60 people. You can't have a conversation with each of them, so you have to rely on your engineers to gather information on the ground level. You need to create an environment for that and focus on building relationships with other department heads, so the information flow works on each level."Click here to read the full interview!

Interview with Zoe Sobin, Senior Engineering Manager at HubSpot. She tells her story of turning an engineering project into a centralized platform solution and how he managed communication, prioritization and every other challenge along the way.Sign up to the Level-up Engineering newsletter!In this interview we're covering:Signs that you need a platformGetting buy-in for a platform productCommunication in platform engineeringPrioritization in platform engineeringNecessary skills for platform engineersExcerpt from the interview:"The original idea for our project was to have one place for all the core reports. It didn’t start out as a platform engineering project; we just realized along the way that we couldn’t easily plug other reports into one place. We needed to build an end-to-end tool, and we had an opportunity to turn it into a centralized platform that scaled across data types, report types and teams.We built a core reporting platform first, then we worked on our own customer facing applications on top of it. Afterwards, we started talking to teams that had point solutions for reporting about getting these supported by our infrastructure.The difficulty of building a tool for everyone is that it won’t be perfect for anyone. For example, the email team knows what type of reports their customers prefer, and the centralized tool may not fit their needs. In platform engineering, you have to compromise on some functions and build a central solution that works for 80-90% of use cases."Click here to read the full interview!

Interview with Anand Safi, Senior Engineering Leader at Mark43. He covers methods and metrics for building trust in virtual teams while telling his story of taking over a newly founded remote team and scaling it up. Sign up to the Level-up Engineering newsletter!In this interview we're covering:Definition of trust in the workplaceDifferences between building trust in virtual teams vs the officeMethods for building trust in a virtual teamEncouraging team members to build trust among each otherMeasuring trust in a virtual teamFeedback channels in virtual teamsAnand's story of building trust in his virtual teamExcerpt from the interview:"At the organizational level, the metric can be transparency around communication. Once you’ve built trust with individuals, you can build organizational trust on the back of that.As an engineer, I used to think, “I wish leadership would tell us about every problem; there is no reason not to.” As a leader partaking in some of these conversations, I’ve had to realize how fluid strategic decisions are. I prefer going to my reports with concrete information rather than updates on discussions that may change by next week.I put effort into coaching my team to understand the leadership's position. I assure them that we’re working on a strategy, and I’ll make sure to update them when we have a plan to execute. Their reaction lets you know how much they trust the organization."Click here to read the full interview!

Interview with Robert C. Martin a.k.a. Uncle Bob. He explains his views and ideas about the need for a set of software engineering ethics, universal quality standards and how they may translate to reality.Sign up to the Level-up Engineering newsletter!In this interview we're covering:Importance of ethicsApplying ethics to software engineeringCurrent ethical problems in the software industrySelling companies on software engineering ethicsCornerstones of software qualityThought experiments with software engineering ethicsRole of the individuals in creating software ethicsThe deadline on software engineering ethicsExcerpt from the interview:"Currently, software developers carry the lifeblood of civilization. Nothing can function without software, and developers' behavior isn’t in line with that responsibility. I want us programmers to behave in a stalwart way, and acknowledge our responsibility which is likely to keep growing.There have been high profile calamities caused by software over the past decades. Software developers need to start discussions about what may be done before a disaster happens that takes control out of our hands.I expect a disaster to happen eventually that overtakes politics and causes legislation to constrain the software industry. We need to get ahead of this and be ready with a code of ethics and a set of standards by the time the politicians come to regulate us."Click here to read the full interview!

Interview with Ankit Patel, SVP of Engineering at Foursquare. He explains how he realized that Foursquare's decision making process requires a rehaul, and what he did to completely restructure the entire organization to create more efficient decision making.Sign up to the Level-up Engineering newsletter!In this interview we're covering:Organizational decision making issuesNew organization structureFinding the solutionRole of leadership in rebuilding organizational decision makingGetting buy-in from the teamsChanges in hiringCommon mistakes in organizational decision making Excerpt from the interview:"The challenge was enabling fast decision making based on the customers’ needs. Foursquare has been in hypergrowth, and we’d been developing teams based on profession. You often had to cross VP boundaries just to discuss a product feature, and our products require a lot of this type of collaboration.We were slow to innovate, which made it difficult to drive change. You needed at least three to four teams to work together to get anything done. This caused a cascading effect where delays in one team impacted other teams as well.This also made prioritization difficult. When you had an emerging idea, you often needed executive involvement to set up priorities. This slowed down innovation and the overall workflow."Click here to read the full interview!

Interview with Maura Kelly, VP of Engineering at Mailchimp about injecting customer obsession into software engineering. She details organizing an event to actualize customer obsession and promote it across every level of the company and shares everything she's learned along the way.Sign up to the Level-up Engineering newsletter!In this interview we're covering:Customer obsession in software engineeringCustomer obsession eventOrigins of the customer obsession eventGetting buy-in from leadershipGetting buy-in from software engineersFeedback for the customer obsession eventLasting changes on the development processPitfalls of customer obsession Excerpt from the interview:"This idea didn’t originate from one person. It came from different parts of the company. People on different teams and different levels started thinking about similar ideas, and we all came together and made it happen. It came from engineering, management, and from our support team.I had co-conspirators who helped me plan it out and make it happen. Shout out to Mehdi, Lee, Cal, and Ariana for all the help. They were working on their own pitches about similar ideas.We all got together and worked out the common patterns across our ideas that resulted in this event."Click here to read the full interview!

Interview with Mike Seavers, VP of Online Development at Epic Games about becoming a manager of managers. He talks about his hardships as a new director, he tells the story of overcoming them, and shares other stories about coaching other leaders to turn them into great directors.Sign up to the Level-up Engineering newsletter!In this interview we're covering:Differences between managing ICs and managing managersStory of transitioning from manager to directorNecessary skills to managing managersCommon mistakes of new directorsWarning signs for new directorsChoosing from director candidatesSupport from executive leaders to new directorsStory of coaching a director new to managing managersBonus advice to managing managersExcerpt from the interview:"I first became a director and started managing managers about 17 years ago. My team consisted of five sub-teams, about 50 people combined, and I had six or seven managers reporting to me. We were going through an Agile transformation.I spent all my time focusing internally, working with my team. I attended stand-ups, we were teaching Scrum and we were introducing new tooling to manage the Agile process. We changed our release method and other internal processes.I was proud of what we managed to accomplish, but when it came time for performance reviews, I received the worst review of my career. My peers and everyone around me outside my team said in their feedback that they had no relationship with me. They didn’t know what I was doing, they just saw me making changes in engineering without involving the leaders of the project management team, the release management team, or the QA team."Click here to read the full interview!

Interview with Jossie Haines, VP of Engineering and Head of DEI at Tile. She talks about the place of empathy in leadership and in the workplace in general, and shares her stories about mastering empathy and coaching others to lead with empathy as well.Sign up to the Level-up Engineering newsletter!In this interview we're covering:Defining empathy in the workplaceDefining empathetic leadershipInfusing leadership with empathyChallenges of leading with empathy remotelyStory of learning about the importance of empathetic leadershipCoaching leaders towards empathetic leadershipCommon mistakes when leading with empathyExcerpt from the interview:"As a leader, you need to be willing to put yourselves in other people’s shoes, and process what they’re going through. Leaders, especially former engineers, often get into the habit of trying to fix everything.When I switched from engineer to manager, I thought my job was to fix things, but I was wrong. I had to learn that my colleagues don’t need me to fix everything. They need me to help them fix their own problems.The first step towards leading with empathy is listening, reflecting and acknowledging how the other person is feeling."Click here to read the full interview!

Interview with Joseph Gefroh, Engineering Director at HealthSherpa. He goes into detail about preparing a team to scale up. He shares his experiences and tells stories about what processes do you need to put in place, why they're necessary and how you can sell your teams on them.Sign up to the Level-up Engineering newsletter!In this interview we're covering:Defining a team that's ready to scaleThe first challenges of scaling a teamImproving knowledge sharing to scale your teamTop processes to standardize before scaling your teamCreating alignment in your team as you scaleStory about standardizing communication channelsBuilding management as you scale your teamIntroducing new management layers as you scale upProcess to reiterate standardized processesExcerpt from the interview:"At one point, I was in a fundraising company that had no intake process. We had different functions, like finance operations, account management, sales, product, etc.Whenever someone in a different department wanted something from engineering, they directly messaged an engineer or had a conversation with them in the office. The engineers usually agreed to help out, and the rest of the company took it as a commitment that engineering would get them what they needed.This led to weird commitments that nobody was tracking and no one was working on. When the deadlines passed, the teams that made these requests got mad and blamed engineering for committing to help in the first place. The engineering organization turned into a black box, and from the perspective of the rest of the company, we were missing deadlines that we didn’t even know about."Click here to read the full interview!

Interview with James Trunk, VP of Engineering at Griffin. He talks in-depth about coming up with his principles of decision making, the ways you can do the same, and their utility in leadership.Sign up to the Level-up Engineering newsletter!In this interview we're covering:Utilizing your principles of decision makingRole of decision principles in leadershipUsing decision principles with your teamUsing decision principles with your peers and managerDangers of using decision principlesOrigins of the decision principlesTips to create your own decision principlesEvolving your principles of decision making over timeExcerpt from the interview:"I don’t think my principles should be applied by everyone. For example, if you keep picking safe bets, you’ll probably fail to create a competitive advantage as a startup. However, in a corporate environment, safe bets might be a better path for your career.I’ve been collecting my decision principles over time, and they’re based on my experiences. I’ve done a lot of reflection on what has and hasn’t gone well, and which principles have helped me make better decisions and which haven’t. They change over time, and I’ve been keeping track of them over the years.I recommend every leader to come up with their own principles of decision making. You don’t have to treat them as absolute truth. Use them as guidelines that remind you to stop and reflect on whether you’re headed in the right direction."Click here to read the full interview!

Interview with Dylan Hansen, Senior Director of Engineering Enablement and Engagement at Salesforce. He talks about leadership and work-life balance, telling stories and tips about improving it in your own life, and supporting your team in achieving a better work-life awareness as well.Sign up to the Level-up Engineering newsletter!In this interview we're covering:The definition of work-life balanceThe process of improving work-life balance in leadershipStrategies for a healthy work-life balance in leadershipUsing a sabbatical to improve work-life balanceWork-life balance tips for new managersSpotting the signs of burnout in a remote environmentHelping your team improve work-life balanceAsking your team to sacrifice from work-life balanceAction plan for employees failing to hit deadlinesExcerpt from the interview:"When I came back from my sabbatical, I decided to set guardrails around my work time, and I wouldn’t check any work email before 7:00 AM or after 5:30 PM. When I was done, I shut down my laptop and picked it up the next day.This started making me anxious when at 5:00 PM, I found myself with more to do and in the flow, so I knew I could get it all done by 6:00 PM. That goes 30 minutes beyond my pre-set stopping time. These situations made me go through a lot of mental gymnastics.As I examined the situation, I realized that boundaries are great, but you have to be able to flex them to fit in an extra 30 minutes when necessary. You have to be able to make yourself available for irregular events on both sides of the work-life balance."Click here to read the full interview!

Interview with Allison McMillan, Director of Engineering at GitHub. She shares her best virtual offsite ideas, hands out some tips you can try yourself and warns you of the pitfalls to avoid. Real life stories from behind the scenes at GitHub.Sign up to the Level-up Engineering newsletter!In this interview we're covering:Definition of virtual offsitesGround rules for virtual offsitesRealistic expectations for virtual offsitesChallenges of virtual offsitesPreparations for virtual offsitesVirtual offsite ideasExcerpt from the interview:"I consider an offsite a state of mind rather than a physical location.Going to a different location can help you achieve this state of mind. Depending on your preference, it may be a different location at your house, a coffee shop, a coworking location, or a different continent.The idea is to get yourself away from daily tasks and to put your brain into a different gear."Click here to read the full interview!

Interview with Jose Roca, VP of Product and Engineering at Prezi. He tells his story about going from shy kid to great engineering leader, building and scaling Prezi's platform team, overcoming internal resistance on different levels, and much more.Sign up to the Level-up Engineering newsletter!In this interview we're covering:Getting into leadership at PreziScaling yourself with your companyFinding mentors and mentoring othersOvercoming internal resistanceKey leadership skillsBalancing the dual role of VP of Product and EngineringScaling in and out of the officeExcerpt from the interview:"My most controversial move was adding the first full-time product manager to an infrastructure team. The resistance mostly came from the engineers. They didn’t understand what the product manager was going to do, or they didn't think they needed that type of help.I explained everything step by step. We went through everyone’s roles and responsibilities, but the infrastructure engineers have been working without product help for so long, I couldn’t convince them it was going to be helpful. On the other side, I worked closely with the first product manager to make sure he fit into the team, and in time, the engineers started seeing the value of his work.Today, our platform teams always work with product managers and they like it, because they understand what tasks they take off the table, so the engineers can focus more on writing code. Some of the platform engineers enjoy doing interviews with product engineers, but most of them are relieved that the product managers take care of it."Click here to read the full interview!

Interview with Camille Fournier, Managing Director and Head of Platform Engineering at Two Sigma. She talks about the role of platform teams, the most important skills for platform engineers, creating smooth communication with product teams and more!Sign up to the Level-up Engineering newsletter!In this interview we're covering:Definition of a platform engineering teamDifferences between product and platform engineeringPriority differences for product and platform teamsCommunication channels between product and platform teamsCommunication challenges in platform teamsNecessary skills for platform engineersThe time to create a platform engineering teamExcerpt from the interview:"Communication works best when a product team reaches out directly to a team in the platform organization. They can communicate quickly about what they need and find a solution. The more you involve senior leadership in early stages, the slower and more complex the process can be.Sometimes you don’t have a choice but to escalate the situation because the platform team you’re in contact with lacks the bandwidth to address your problem. I aim to provide flexibility for my platform teams to work with their product counterparts, but it has to be balanced.If the platform team is constantly working on fulfilling one-off requests, it hurts productivity. If you see that happening, you need to figure out what the product teams are trying to do, and plan ahead to provide the necessary tooling."Click here to read the full interview!

Interview with Erica Greene, Senior Engineering Manager at Etsy about the importance of writing in software engineering. She goes into details about why you need to write well, how to get good at it, how to coach your team in writing and much more.Sign up to the Level-up Engineering newsletter!In this interview we're covering:The importance of writing in engineering managementWhy is writing important in software engineeringWhy is writing important in meetingsImproving your writing skills as a managerWriting tools for engineering managersCommon mistakes of managersTeaching your team about the importance of writing Excerpt from the interview:"Recently, I had a disagreement with a project manager regarding a project. We had a meeting about it and it was productive, but we didn’t manage to completely resolve the conflict. He suggested that we continue the discussion in a document.We wrote down the points that we agreed on, and the points we disagreed about, and we started a back and forth. He wrote his response and sent it to me, and I could answer when I found some time, and then send it back. We resolved the conflict in about four to five rounds.It was a misunderstanding, and we came to a compromise. It was an efficient way of working out a conflict in written format, which we probably wouldn’t even have tried pre-pandemic, working fully on-site."Click here to read the full interview!

Interview with Pat Kua, former engineering leader, current leadership coach about applying systems thinking to management. We start from the defintion systems thinking and discuss applying it to leadership with clear steps and concrete examples.Sign up to the Level-up Engineering newsletter!In this interview we're covering:The definition of systems thinkingApplying systems thinking to leadershipKey concepts and potential traps of systems thinkingThe steps of applying systems thinkingThe importance of exploration in systems thinkingTools for systems thinkingBonus advice to apply systems thinking in leadershipExcerpt from the interview:"Systems thinking focuses on emergent behavior. It’s about qualities that the individual parts alone don’t possess.Human life is a good example for this. We’re made up of parts, such as skin, brain, etc., but none of these parts can be alive on their own. Life only happens when you combine them.The reductionist view is still important and valuable. Systems thinking is a complement to the classic scientific view. It can help you take a holistic approach to understand complex systems."Click here to read the full interview!