ShipTalk - SRE, DevOps, Platform Engineering, Software Delivery

In this episode of the Ship Talk podcast, host Dewan Ahmed welcomes Vishwa Krishnakumar, co-founder of ZenDuty, to delve into the complexities of software delivery, from managing stress as a startup founder to the nuances of DevOps and SRE practices. Vishwa shares his journey from a young coder to a successful entrepreneur, emphasizing the importance of physical and mental well-being in high-pressure environments.

They discuss how ZenDuty emerged from a need to address incident management and the evolution of DevOps practices, highlighting the significance of timing and cultural shifts in successful implementations. The conversation also explores the role of AI and machine learning in DevOps, shedding light on how automation can enhance productivity and reliability without completely replacing human intervention. Tune in for insights on balancing manual efforts with automation, the future of AI in software engineering, and practical tips for maintaining sanity in the demanding world of tech startups.

In this episode of ShipTalk, we are joined with Ken Ahrens, CEO and Founder of Speedscale. Kubernetes is turning 10 this summer  and we dig into how the ecosystem has been evolving. 

Learn more from Ken as he walks through his journey on:

* Don't forget the fundamentals 
* 10 Years into K8s, what is still challenging
* Enthusiasm, a very important skill

Explore the ins and outs of software engineering and organizational culture in the ShipTalk Podcast. In this episode, Dewan Ahmed, a Principal Developer Advocate at Harness, engages in a compelling conversation with Matt Anger, a Senior Staff Engineer at DoorDash.

In this insightful discussion, Matt reflects on his career, from a fresh graduate to his current role as an engineering leader at DoorDash. The conversation covers the evolution of software delivery methodologies, touching on Matt's experiences with Kotlin for performance and ecosystem, scaling platform engineering at his org, and the significance of good engineering culture for creating better software.

Delve into DoorDash's engineering culture, where Matt shares the company's strategies, including embracing mono repos, automated workflows, and centralized developer infrastructure for a seamless onboarding experience.

The dialogue extends to the broader tech landscape, addressing startup challenges. Matt shares practical advice for small engineering teams, emphasizing the importance of leveraging existing platforms like GitHub or Harness and avoiding unnecessary complexity in the early stages.

The conversation takes a personal turn as Dewan and Matt delve into the human and cultural aspects of software delivery. Matt emphasizes the significance of finding good mentors early in one's career, highlighting the impact of mentorship in shaping professional growth. The dialogue also touches on the importance of understanding the underlying layers of technology and maintaining kindness and professionalism in interactions.

As the podcast wraps up, Dewan and Matt extend an invitation to fellow engineering professionals, encouraging them to connect, seek mentorship, and engage in knowledge-sharing. Matt shares insights on how he welcomes individuals to reach out for guidance, underscoring the power of networking in the tech community.

---

Connect with our host Dewan Ahmed on LinkedIn: Dewan's LinkedIn

Connect with our guest Matt Anger on LinkedIn: Matt's LinkedIn

Welcome to the latest season of ShipTalk! In this episode, we get to talk to Dr. Vlad Ukis, Head of R&D for Siemens Healthineers and author of Establishing SRE Foundations. 

We cover several great topics from starting and scaling an SRE function in a healthcare/regulated industry to how to go about renegotiating your SLOs. 

* Road to SaaS
* How to renegotiate SLOs
* Changes in SRE practices through the years

In this episode of ShipTalk, Arch Mortgage Insurance Company's Head of Infrastructure and Operations, Scott Lee, discusses his home automation solution, deep dives into the massive gap between remote workers and their managers, and share a story about that one time he lived in an RV for 18 months with his wife and 2 dogs.

Introductions
Just for fun #1 - Automate all the things at home
Main topic - A doctoral discussion on remote working
Just for fun #2 - Scott's life in an RV and how he incorporated home automation

In this episode of ShipTalk, Deutsche Bank's Head of Cloud Engineering , Bijit Ghosh, takes us on a culinary journey to Croatia, discusses cloud native adoption and cultural change in the high stakes world of financial services, and brings us all home for meal time with the Ghosh family.

Introductions
Just for fun #1 - Bijit's favorite travel destination
Main topic - Cloud Native adoption and cultural change in Financial Services
Just for fun #2 - Bijit's favorite hobby

In this episode of ShipTalk, our host Jim Hirschauer interviews many of the speakers from the WTF is SRE conference and discusses the many life lessons they express. This episode is packed with important lessons to help you interact with your co-workers and to succeed in life in general. The crew also has some fun discussing foods for a deserted island.

Introduction
What's your favorite...?
If you could give yourself one...what would it be?
Just for fun ... Deserted island food

In this episode of ShipTalk (The SRE Edition), Red Hat's Chief Mermaid, Hilliary Lipsig, defines a new word that all techies should adopt into their vocabulary. For the main course, Hilliary describes how to use Observability data to do so much more than most companies are doing today. She also shares her favorite hobby which is something I have never heard of before.

Introductions
Just for fun #1 - Hilliary's new word - ooming
Main topic - Using Observability data proactively
Just for fun #2 - Hilliary's favorite hobby

In this episode of ShipTalk (The SRE Edition), Kyle Shelton tells us about his experience using and building developer platforms to enhance the developer experience. He also shares his favorite hobby and cautionary tale about a preventable outage that cost ~$1M ... ouch! Be sure to check out Kyle blog site at https://chaoskyle.com/

Introductions
Just for fun #1 - Kyle's favorite hobby
Main topic - The value of IDPs and some advice on getting started
Just for fun #2 - Kyle's worst IT mess-up

In this episode of ShipTalk (The SRE Edition), Steve McGhee shares tells us about a new open-source project that helps SREs understand which capabilities are required to achieve increasing levels of reliability (the nines). He also shares some interesting stories about misadventures with user files and how Google handled the news that Michael Jackson had passed away.

Introductions
Just for fun #1 - Steve's activities outside of work
Main topic - r9y.dev, what it is, how to use it, how to contribute
Just for fun #2 - Steve's worst IT mess-ups and creating a new unit of measure
Closing