Engineering Unblocked

By Swarmia

Keeping software engineers in flow and unblocked is one of the key responsibilities of software development leaders. In each episode of the Engineering Unblocked podcast, Rebecca Murphey interviews le... more

· Technology

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FAQs about Engineering Unblocked:

How many episodes does Engineering Unblocked have?

The podcast currently has 27 episodes available.

Engineering Unblocked episodes:

August 08, 2024 Rising to engineering leadership challenges at Honeycomb with Emily Nakashima from Honeycomb
Emily Nakashima, VPE at Honeycomb, shares her experience about the hard choices an engineering leader has to make about how to structure — and sometimes restructure — their engineering org.
Emily and Rebecca talk cross-team collaboration, emphasizing eng as an equal partner to other functions, and mistakes that seemed like such a good idea at the time.
Find the transcript at: https://www.unblocked.fm/episodes/emily-nakashima-honeycomb/
Timestamps
(0:00) Introductions
(0:49) Emily’s journey to Honeycomb
(4:45) Observability vs. Monitoring
(7:55) About being VPE at Honeycomb
(10:13) What makes Honeycomb unique
(15:50) About Honeycomb’s structuring strategy
(19:20) Cross-team collaboration
(23:57) Examples of cross-team collaboration
(26:20) About ownership challenges
(29:01) Setting goals
(33:41) Hiring software engineers
(38:26) Pros and cons of ‘culture fit’
(42:35) Emily’s hot take on tech
Follow Emily on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eanakashima/
Follow Rebecca on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rmurphey/
Links and mentions
• Honeycomb: https://www.honeycomb.io/
...more
46min
May 28, 2024 What makes a Platform Team work with Mason Jones from Zapier
Mason Jones recently started a new role at Zapier, where he’s bringing his platform leadership experience from Lattice and Credit Karma.
In this episode, Mason shares his thoughts on what makes a platform team work, common tradeoffs in platform development, and the challenges of making your team’s work visible and understandable to the whole organization.
Find the transcript at: https://www.unblocked.fm/episodes/mason-jones-zapier/
Timestamps
(0:00) Introductions
(0:39) Mason’s journey to Zapier
(4:39) How Mason joined the platform team
(8:48) Naming teams
(11:10) The mechanics of reorienting
(15:46) Transitioning from infrastructure to platform
(20:44) Goal-setting using data
(24:39) Mason’s take on product managers
(28:48) Detangling a monolith into services
(33:49) Federating vs. centralizing
(37:04) How Mason approaches standardization
(41:22) How to communicate
(44:58) The value of case studies
(47:08) What Mason wants to achieve in a year
Follow Mason on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/masonjones/
Follow Rebecca on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rmurphey/
Links and mentions
• Zapier: https://zapier.com/
• Credit Karma: https://www.creditkarma.com/
...more
49min
May 13, 2024 Pulling off a multi-month tech debt paydown project with Alice Bartlett from Financial Times
Alice Bartlett, Tech Director for Customer Products at the Financial Times, shares what it takes to introduce modern technology to a 136-year-old company and how to successfully lead significant efforts to re-architect understandable but unfortunate decisions of the past.
In this episode, Rebecca and Alice dig deep on one of those decisions and how she got the work funded and how she got the work done.
Find the transcript at: https://www.unblocked.fm/episodes/alice-bartlett-financial-times/
Timestamps
(0:00) Introductions
(1:06) Alice’s journey to the FT
(5:17) About the FT’s pink paper
(7:20) The FT’s history of innovation
(11:52) Organizational changes at the FT
(13:54) How Alice fixed an architectural flaw
(19:34) The importance of communication
(24:21) Changing an overly-complicated system
(27:02) Blameless culture
(29:15) How Alice keeps engagement high
(32:40) Maintaining the new system
(34:53) All-use cases and bugs
(39:19) Alice’s take on tech
Follow Alice on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alicebartlett/
Follow Rebecca on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rmurphey/
Links and mentions
• Financial Times: https://www.ft.com/
• The Pragmatic Programmer: https://www.amazon.com/Pragmatic-Programmer-Journeyman-Master/dp/020161622X
...more
43min
April 30, 2024 The evolution of data engineering in the age of AI with Colleen Tartow from VAST Data
Colleen Tartow, Field CTO and Head of Strategy at VAST Data, shares her experience from years in data engineering leadership roles.
In this episode, Rebecca and Colleen talk about how “data” has evolved over the years, how AI is turning everything we know about data upside down, and how a PhD in Astrophysics got her started on this path.
Find the transcript at: https://www.unblocked.fm/episodes/colleen-tartow-vast/
Timestamps
(0:00) Introductions
(0:44) Colleen’s background
(3:01) About VAST’s approach
(7:18) Unique challenges of data engineering
(10:56) Setting reasonable expectations
(13:34) The importance of process
(16:29) The future of data engineering
(21:00) What Colleen misses about engineering
(22:39) How to set goals for a data organization
(25:58) Colleen’s perspective on people in business
(29:58) Colleen’s unusual path to data
Follow Colleen on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/colleen-tartow-phd/
Follow Rebecca on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rmurphey/
Links and mentions
• VAST Data: https://www.vastdata.com/
...more
33min
April 08, 2024 Building scaleups without hero culture with Andrea Corey from Homebase
Andrea Corey is a VP of Engineering for platform engineering at Homebase.
In today’s episode, Rebecca and Andrea talk about Andrea’s experience in working at scaleups, the lessons she’s learned, the pitfalls she’s trained herself to avoid, and some of the biggest problems leaders need to solve as their organization grows.
Find the transcript at: https://www.unblocked.fm/episodes/andrea-corey-homebase/
Timestamps
(0:00) Introductions
(0:46) Andrea’s background
(4:37) Unlocking potential among teams
(7:02) About Homebase’s team strategy
(11:26) Tips to make ideas a reality
(15:20) How Andrea manages multiple teams
(18:11) Countering hero culture
(21:44) Incident handling
(25:19) Setting goals around incidents
(27:23) Avoiding past mistakes
(33:45) When to federate vs. centralize
(37:01) Who Andrea wants to be
Follow Andrea on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreacorey/
Follow Rebecca on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rmurphey/
Links and mentions
• Homebase: https://joinhomebase.com/
• FreshBooks: https://www.freshbooks.com/
• Eloqua: https://www.oracle.com/cx/marketing/automation/
...more
39min
March 20, 2024 Change: It’s a long game with Liz Hustedt from ActBlue
Liz Hustedt is a Senior Engineering Manager at ActBlue, an American political action committee and fundraising platform established serving left-leaning and Democratic nonprofits and politicians.
In today’s episode, Rebecca and Liz talk about how Liz’s early experience as an ICU nurse shaped her leadership skills and style, and about managing change in a way that’s empathetic to where the organization is at the moment.
Find the transcript at: https://www.unblocked.fm/episodes/liz-hustedt-actblue
Timestamps
(00:00) Introductions
(00:50) Liz’s background
(04:00) About ActBlue and Liz’s experience there
(08:55) Understanding team health
(12:35) Building trust
(15:15) Roadmap planning
(20:07) How Liz and her team are evaluated
(21:21) About outcome-driven goals
(26:26) Tips to transition towards outcome-driven goals
(28:59) Skills needed in management
(34:34) Managing through change
(40:50) Milestones and who Liz wants to be
Follow Liz on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lizhustedt/
Follow Rebecca on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rmurphey/
Links and mentions
• ActBlue: https://secure.actblue.com/
...more
47min
March 06, 2024 Crafting a career at the intersection of tech and people with Scott Bonneau from Karat
Scott Bonneau is the EVP of Product and Operations at Karat, the end-to-end solution for technical hiring. Before Karat, Scott has worked in various engineering and HR roles at Google and Indeed.
In today’s episode, Rebecca and Scott discuss Scott’s career at the intersection of technology and people, how leaders can win the trust of a team that they’ve inherited, and how the tech industry has changed over the past 30 years.
Find the transcript at: https://www.unblocked.fm/episodes/scott-bonneau-karat
Timestamps
(00:00) Introductions
(02:18) Scott’s journey to his current role
(07:10) About Karat
(11:05) The role of EVP Product & Operations at Karat
(15:43) How to keep everyone close to the ultimate company goal
(22:15) Navigating low-trust environments
(27:15) What has changed in tech industry during Scott’s career
(30:40) How AI is going to change in the tech industry — especially for junior engineers
(35:35) What is changing with regards to the hire-ability of developers
(38:01) Where you can find Scott play music
Follow Scott on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bonneau/
Follow Rebecca on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rmurphey/
Links and mentions
• Karat: https://karat.com/
• Indeed: https://www.indeed.com/
• The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: https://www.tablegroup.com/product/dysfunctions/
...more
41min
December 08, 2023 Introducing metrics to an engineering organization with Lena Reinhard
Lena Reinhard has been a software engineer, a cofounder, and a vice president of engineering, including leadership stints at Travis CI and CircleCI.
These days, she’s an engineering leadership coach and consultant. On today’s episode, Rebecca and Lena talk about those experiences, and how they’ve shaped Lena’s perspective of engineering management and managing with metrics.
Find the transcript at: https://www.unblocked.fm/episodes/lena-reinhard-introducing-metrics-to-an-engineering-organization
Timestamps
(00:00) Introductions
(00:49) How Lena accidentally got into tech from a finance background
(02:33) Lena’s current role as an engineering leadership coach
(03:00) What drew Lena into developer tools
(05:10) Maintaining situational awareness as a leader of a large engineering organization
(06:15) The two purposes of engineering metrics
(12:20) How Lena helps engineering organizations drive visibility
(17:19) Leading indicators to a visibility problem
(21:23) Introducing engineering metrics in a low-trust environment
(27:25) How (not) to roll out a metrics program
(28:25) The failure mode in running employee engagement surveys
(30:37) Lena’s biggest learnings in rolling out metrics programs
(36:16) How to get in touch with Lena
Where to find Lena
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lenareinhard/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/lrnrd
Where to find Rebecca
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rmurphey/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/rmurphey
Links and mentions
• Lena's website: https://www.lenareinhard.com/
• What engineering metrics should I use? A guide for engineering managers, directors, and leaders: https://www.lenareinhard.com/articles/what-engineering-metrics-should-i-use-a-guide-for-engineering-managers-directors-and-vps
• How to roll out and use engineering metrics successfully: https://www.lenareinhard.com/articles/how-to-introduce-engineering-metrics-successfully
...more
38min
November 06, 2023 Like a Fitbit for engineering teams with Grant Jenks from LinkedIn
Grant Jenks is a Senior Staff Software Engineer at LinkedIn.
In this episode of Engineering Unblocked, Rebecca and Grant discuss how LinkedIn approaches the challenges of keeping its software engineers (and others) happy and productive, and how the Engineering Insights organization informs its work and the work of teams across LinkedIn.
Find the transcript at: https://www.unblocked.fm/episodes/grant-jenks-linkedin-like-a-fitbit-for-engineering-teams
Timestamps
(00:00) Introductions
(01:00) Grant’s current role and his career journey
(03:51) The origins of the productivity organization at LinkedIn
(05:22) From building “tools” to maintaining critical development infrastructure
(06:40) Incorporating commodity tools
(08:06) Choosing which problems to solve
(09:21) How the team’s metrics inform work across LinkedIn
(12:05) Using the metrics to help teams set goals
(13:30) Choosing the right metrics for the problem
(15:32) Unique user problems at scale
(18:07) Different problems and different perceptions for different personas
(23:09) Working with productivity champions at the team level
(23:40) Defining “happiness” and soliciting feedback
(28:05) Spotting trends in the sentiment data, and choosing the right cadence
(30:26) The product is productivity, and users can do surprising things
(34:00) Making change happen at scale
(38:33) Using metrics in a productivity emergency
Where to find Grant
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/grantjenks/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/Grant_Jenks
Where to find Rebecca
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rmurphey/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/rmurphey
Links and mentions
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/
• GitHub Codespaces: https://github.com/features/codespaces
• Horizontal initiatives at LinkedIn: https://engineering.linkedin.com/blog/2018/03/scaling-decision-making-across-teams-within-linkedin-engineering
• Artifactory: https://jfrog.com/artifactory/
...more
45min
September 29, 2023 Reflecting on ladders, acquisitions, and personal trajectory after 8 years at Sentry with Ben Vinegar
Ben Vinegar has spent the last 8 years at Sentry in a variety of roles, from Software Engineer to VP of Engineering.
Today, Rebecca and Ben discuss non-linear careers, engineering career ladders, acquisitions, and more.
Find the transcript at: https://www.unblocked.fm/episodes/ben-vinegar-sentry-reflecting-on-ladders-acquisitions-and-personal-trajectory
Timestamps
(00:00) Introduction
(01:26) Third-Party JavaScript and Sentry
(02:33) Ben’s journey to VP of Engineering
(03:24) Sentry’s growth
(05:08) The ladder: differentiating engineering levels
(08:45) How Ben became the Co-VP of Engineering
(12:42) A new role focused on innovation
(16:40) Building an emerging tech team
(19:26) Preserving innovation outside the innovation team
(21:37) Lessons from acquisitions
(26:11) Leading Syntax.fm
(28:34) A company within a company
(30:36) Non-linear careers
Where to find Ben
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benvinegar/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/bentlegen
Where to find Rebecca
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rmurphey/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/rmurphey
Links and mentions
• Sentry: https://sentry.io/
• Third-Party JavaScript, a book by Ben Vinegar and Anton Kovalyov: https://www.manning.com/books/third-party-javascript
• Disqus: https://disqus.com/
• Shape Security (now part of F5): https://www.f5.com/cloud/products/bot-defense
• Specto (a Sentry acquisition): https://sentry.io/about/press-releases/sentry-acquires-analytics-firm-specto-to-add-continuous-profiling-to-mobile-application-monitoring/
• Syntax.fm (a recent Sentry acquisition): http://Syntax.fm
...more
34min

FAQs about Engineering Unblocked:

How many episodes does Engineering Unblocked have?

The podcast currently has 27 episodes available.