In this episode of The Ops Drop, we talk with Ed Morgan — a 20+ year software engineer and founder - about what it takes to build an effective, business-savvy engineering team in 2025.

We dive into engineering team structure, hiring the right engineers, working with outsourced vs in-house teams, and how to align engineering metrics with business outcomes. Whether you're a CTO, VP of Engineering, or product leader, this conversation will help you rethink how engineering teams should operate in today’s tech landscape.

Timestamps:

00:40- Ed Morgan: journalist turned engineer

03:30- STEM vs Non-STEM educated engineers

05:50- What to look for in your engineering candidates

08:20- Outsourcing vs hiring in-house engineers

10:35- How hiring trends have changed over time in engineering

14:15- Working with outsourced vs in-house teams

16:00- The ROI of your engineering team

18:00 What does a healthy engineering org look like?!

22:00- Aligning engineering metrics with business outcomes, and where to get started

23:45- Optimal engineering team structures

26:00- How to get your engineers "out of the basement" and closer to the business

29:45- Top 3 things engineering leaders need to be thinking about in 2025

Connect with Ed Morgan 🔗 LinkedIn:   / edwardpmorgan   🌐 Gordian Knot: https://www.gordianknot.company/our-team