This week, I sat down with Neha Batra, VP of Engineering for Core Productivity at GitHub. Our conversation is about the value of taking calculated risks in engineering leadership, using a “risk budget," and how you can leverage your social capital to take risks that help your career. Neha also shares her insights on senior engineering leaders' challenges when aligning business needs with talent and product execution. She discusses her framework for strengthening company alignment and...

In the last few years, disengagement at work has become a massive issue. We learned from Dr. Andre Martin’s episode that 53% of managers are burnt out and 1 in 3 employees leave their jobs in the first 90 days. This week, we sat down with Chuck Lafferty, VP of CRM at ADP, to discuss ADP’s approach to employee engagement and innovation. Chuck dives into building trust within teams, innovative techniques like ‘Survey Roulette’ to incorporate user feedback into development, and the critical role...

This week, our host Dan Lines sits down with Tara Hernandez, VP of Developer Productivity at MongoDB. Together, they explore the nuances of developer productivity and the impact of AI in engineering environments. Tara emphasizes that achieving developer productivity requires a focus on outcomes, reduced noise for developers, and a healthy balance between technology, processes, and communication. She also touches on the strategic framework of the 'three horizons' for conceptualizing your...

In the past year, ransomware attacks have been up almost 300%, with over 50% targeting small businesses. To help mitigate this increase, Microsoft is launching their new Security Copilot, and we sat down with their SMB Security Strategy Head, Binil Pillai, to learn more. We dive into the importance of SMBs assessing their security posture, how to leverage AI for efficient threat detection and response, and the role of Microsoft's partner ecosystem in providing comprehensive security...

In this episode, host Conor Bronsdon talks with Melissa DePuydt, Sr. Director of Engineering at Upstatement. Melissa discusses how her background in journalism has uniquely positioned her to excel in engineering leadership roles. She highlights how thinking like a journalist has enhanced her ability to lead engineering teams effectively, particularly in planning, risk management, and decision-making. The conversation covers the importance of preparing for disruptions, conducting pre-mortems...

On this week’s episode, host Conor Bronsdon sits down with Emily Nakashima, VP of Engineering at Honeycomb.io, to discuss how you can prepare to be a VP of Engineering, and how the role differs among companies. Being a VPE varies based on company size, culture, and the existing team's makeup, and Emily provides valuable advice for engineers aspiring to leadership positions. Emily also discusses using personality tests for better team dynamics and the need for regular self-evaluation as an...

This week, host Conor Bronsdon welcomes back Kelly Vaughn, Director of Engineering at Spot AI, to talk about building influence as an engineering leader. Kelly shares insights on the importance of leadership skills for both individual contributor and managerial roles and outlines her three pillars of trust, communication, and empowerment. Conor and Kelly discuss strategies for staying technically fresh despite moving up in management, exploring the balance between staying close to product...

On this week’s episode, host Conor Bronsdon is joined by Jason Krohn, Global Head of Delivery at Syngenta. Jason delves into how his teams at Syngenta leverage software engineering intelligence to achieve predictable delivery at scale. Jason also explores how aligning work with employees' passions contributes to success and retention at Syngenta. He discusses the challenges and solutions in implementing efficient DevOps processes and ensuring organizational buy-in for the vision....

This week, host Dan Lines welcomes back Zach Goldberg, CTO and author of the book 'The Startup CTO's Handbook: Essential Skills and Best Practices for High Performing Engineering Teams.’ Zach shares insights from his extensive career as a CTO and his journey in writing a book that condenses the wisdom of numerous other influential works into a single, comprehensive guide. We explore the three core sections of his book: Management Fundamentals: Interviewing, Hiring, Performance Management,...

It doesn’t matter if you have an innovative technical strategy if you’re not solving problems the business cares about…  This week, host Conor Bronsdon sits down with Rob Zuber, CTO at CircleCI. They delve into the evolving role of engineering leaders, and the importance of building a technical strategy that aligns with overarching business goals. Throughout the conversation, Rob emphasizes the importance of focusing on customer needs, gathering direct feedback and maintaining strategic...

On this week’s episode, host Conor Bronsdon sit down with Guilherme Sesterheim, SAP DevOps SRE Engineer at AWS. Guilherme delves into applying Chaos Engineering and DevOps principles to SAP, a domain traditionally seen as risk-averse and resistant to rapid innovation. With expertise in both open-source technologies and SAP, Guilherme shares how he’s bringing modern practices to SAP environments at AWS. He explores how Chaos Engineering can be used to test and improve the resilience of SAP...

On this week’s episode, our hosts Dan Lines and Conor Bronsdon are joined by long-time friend of the show, industry expert, and Director of Engineering at Spot AI, Kelly Vaughn. Together they tackle a range of topics, including how tax laws are impacting engineering teams, the evolving role of AI in software development, and the great build vs. buy debate. The conversation starts with Kelly and Dan’s takes on Section 174, which poses a looming threat to US tech companies. From there, they...

On this week's episode, we're joined by Carol Barrett, the Engineering Leader in Consumer Identity and Access at Netflix. Host Conor Bronsdon interviews Carol to learn about Netflix’s blueprint for success when building engineering teams, and how they foster a culture where inspiration and purpose are at the forefront. Carol shares her valuable insights on empowering engineers to make their own decisions, ensuring product management and engineering are perfectly synced, and the importance of...

In this week's episode of Dev Interrupted, co-host Conor Bronsdon is joined by David Yee, VP of Engineering at the New York Times. They dive into the often unseen aspects of organizational structures, discussing how every organization regardless of their defined values and principles, operates with a 'shadow'.  David discusses the role of senior leaders in addressing systemic problems and navigating the tensions between innovation and consistency. He highlights the importance of recognizing...

What can you learn from the scaling issues OpenAI experienced when Chat-GPT went viral?  On this week’s episode, guest host Ben Lloyd Pearson is joined by Evan Morikawa, Engineering Manager at OpenAI. Join us for a first-hand look at the engineering challenges that came with Chat-GPT’s viral success, and the difficulties associated with scaling in response to the sudden platform popularity. They also discuss misconceptions around generative AI, OpenAI’s reliance on GPUs to carry out their...

Season 4 kicks off with a conversation with Gene Kim, author of several renowned books, including "The Phoenix Project," "The DevOps Handbook," and most recently, "Wiring the Winning Organization." In this episode, Gene candidly shares the trials behind writing what he considers one of his most challenging books, why it was a joy to partner with Steven Spear as a co-author, and the key principles needed for creating high-performing teams. Illustrating these ideas, Gene and Conor draw on...

Hosts Dan Lines, Conor Bronson, and Ben Lloyd Pearson team up for a special holiday edition of Dev Interrupted. In this season-ending episode, they revisit their favorite moments from Season 3 of the podcast,  share a glimpse of what listeners can expect in Season 4, and spread holiday cheer as they reflect on what they're thankful for. The team is taking a week off to enjoy the holidays. We’ll see you back here on January 2nd for the start of Season 4! Show Notes: Dan's favorite episode:...

What does protecting the more than 100 million developers on GitHub’s platform take? And what can your team learn from GitHub’s impressive security posture?  On this week’s episode, co-host Conor Bronsdon is joined by Jacob DePriest, VP and Deputy Chief Security Officer at GitHub. Join them as they discuss Jacob's journey from the NSA to GitHub, delving into how AI impacts the security space and the future of Copilot's ever-expanding capabilities. The conversation also explores how...

We are in the middle of a crisis of commitment in the workplace – 53% of managers are burnt out, 1 in 3 employees leave their jobs in the first 90 days, and an estimated $7.8 trillion in lost productivity is due to poor organizational fit. On this week’s Dev Interrupted, we uncover the keys to a thriving workplace as co-host Conor Bronsdon is joined by Dr. Andre Martin, a seasoned organizational psychologist and author of the book 'Wrong Fit, Right Fit'. Together, they share strategies to...

What trends do engineering leaders need to pay attention to, and how will they impact your teams in 2024? This week, co-host Conor Bronsdon is joined by LinearB co-founder and CEO Ori Keren to discuss his predictions for next year.  Together they discuss why dev team metrics are here to stay, why Ori doesn’t like the term ‘developer productivity’ [hint: he prefers ‘engineering efficiency’], how the rise of gen AI written code will create a problem for development pipelines everywhere, and...

The story behind why some organizations win big and keep on winning. This week, co-host Conor Bronsdon interviews Dr. Steven J. Spear, renowned MIT senior lecturer, founder, and author, to discuss the core principles from Dr. Spear's new book with Gene Kim, "Wiring The Winning Organization". They delve into why some organizations consistently outperform others, highlighting how the best organizations create systems that enhance problem-solving through slowification, simplification, and...

With all of the hype around the future impacts of AI, it can be easy to overlook existing solutions that solve some of the biggest pain points faced by your engineering team.  On this week’s episode of Dev Interrupted, co-host Conor Bronsdon and LinearB’s Head of Developer Relations, Ben Lloyd Pearson, discuss programmable workflows and how you can apply policy-as-code principles.  Recorded live at the DevOps Enterprise Summit, Conor and Ben explore how gitStream’s programmable workflows...

Ever wonder what it takes to make it to the boardroom? This week's Dev Interrupted is your invitation to the table. Join us as Conor Bronsdon puts host Dan Lines in the hot seat to uncover the secrets to rising through the ranks—from IC to engineering leader with a voice in the board meetings. Together, they discuss balancing tough decisions, team well-being, and how to maintain your technical edge while being able to speak in business terms to your CEO. Strap in for the grand finale of...

Staying on top of emerging trends is difficult enough, so what should you do when your whole career feels, well, stuck?  In this week's episode of Dev Interrupted, join co-host Conor Bronsdon and Charles Max Wood, CEO of Top End Devs, as they delve into overcoming career stagnation for developers. They discuss strategies to reignite momentum in your career, highlighting the importance of effectively showcasing your work, building strong networks, and committing to continuous...