“Architecture is something that has to emerge naturally from the code. If it doesn’t make the code better, more elegant, and more flexible, then you should not be doing it.”

Why do so many developers have a love-hate relationship with ORM? The creator of Hibernate reveals the real reasons behind the controversy and what’s being done to fix the fundamental issues.

In this episode, Gavin King, the creator of Hibernate, shares the story behind its creation, from a debate with his boss to its rise as a popular open-source. He dives deep into why developers often dislike ORM, pinpointing the “magic” of the stateful persistence context as a major pain point.

Gavin explains how modern specifications are fixing these historical issues with an emphasis on type safety and more explicit, stateless operations, giving developers greater control.

Key topics discussed:

• The origin story of Hibernate and the early frustrations with Java EE
• The single biggest mistake that led some developers to hate ORM
• Why type safety matters and how the new Jakarta specifications enable type-safe queries
• Why architecture should emerge from code, not from whiteboard diagrams
• A critique on industry dogmas and architecture best practices, including DDD aggregates
• Why disagreement is essential for healthy engineering teams

Timestamps:

• (00:00:00) Trailer & Intro
• (00:02:24) Career Turning Points
• (00:16:11) The Problems That Led to Hibernate Creation
• (00:24:22) Key Things That Make Hibernate Successful
• (00:31:57) Behind the Scene of Java EE Specifications
• (00:37:42) The Renaming of Java EE to Jakarta EE
• (00:40:15) Jakarta Persistence, Jakarta Data, Jakarta Query Language
• (00:47:20) The Importance of Type Safety
• (00:54:08) Why Some People Dislike ORM
• (01:00:47) The Fundamental of Data Fetching and Association
• (01:08:52) The Upcoming Jakarta Data and QL Updates
• (01:16:06) Gavin’s View on Software Architecture
• (01:26:08) The DDD from Gavin’s Perspective
• (01:30:55) Tech Lead Wisdom

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Gavin King’s Bio
Gavin King is the creator of Hibernate, the revolutionary framework that redefined data persistence for millions of Java developers. A key figure in the evolution of enterprise Java, he has led the development of major industry standards like the Java Persistence API (JPA) and CDI. After a decade designing the Ceylon programming language, he has returned to his roots to advance the next generation of data persistence with Jakarta EE.

Follow Gavin:

• LinkedIn – linkedin.com/in/gavinking
• Twitter – x.com/1ovthafew
• Website – hibernate.org

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Are long code review cycles killing your engineering team’s velocity? Learn how top engineering teams are shipping code faster without sacrificing quality.

In this episode, Greg Foster, CTO and co-founder of Graphite, discusses the evolution of code review practices, from the fundamentals of pull requests to the future of AI in code review workflows. He shares the secrets behind how the Graphite team became one of the most productive engineering teams by leveraging techniques like small code changes and stacked PRs (pull requests).

Key topics discussed:

• The evolution of code review from bug-hunting to knowledge sharing
• Best practices for PRs and why small PRs get better feedback
• How stacked PRs eliminate waiting time in development workflows
• The rise of AI in the code review process
• Why AI code review works best as an automated CI check
• How Graphite achieves P99 engineering productivity
• Hiring engineers in the age of AI-assisted coding

Timestamps:

• (00:00) Trailer & Intro
• (02:21) Career Turning Points
• (05:11) Now is The Golden Time to Be in Software Engineering
• (09:08) The Evolution of Code Review in Software Development
• (14:59) The Popularity of Pull Request Workflow
• (21:01) Pull Request Best Practices
• (26:17) The Stacked PR and Its Benefits
• (34:07) How Graphite Ships Code Remarkably Fast
• (40:03) The Cool Things About AI Code Review
• (45:23) Graphite’s Unique Recipes for Engineering Productivity
• (50:55) Hiring Engineers in the Age of AI
• (55:31) 2 Tech Lead Wisdom

_____

Greg Foster’s Bio
Greg Foster is the CTO and co-founder of Graphite, an a16z and Anthropic-backed company helping teams like Snowflake, Figma, and Perplexity ship faster and scale AI-generated code with confidence. Prior to Graphite, Greg was a dev tools engineer at Airbnb. There, he experienced the impact of robust internal tooling on developer velocity and co-founded Graphite to bring powerful, AI-powered code review to every team. Greg holds a BS in Computer Science from Harvard University.

Follow Greg:

• LinkedIn – linkedin.com/in/gregmfoster
• X – x.com/gregmfoster
• Email – [email protected]
• Graphite – graphite.dev
• Graphite X – x.com/withgraphite

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Struggling with technical debt and code quality? Learn how a technical coach can help your team level up.

In this episode, Emily Bache, a Samman technical coach, shares her proven method for building better engineering teams through structured learning and collaborative coding. We explore ensemble programming, learning hours, and why AI makes fundamental engineering practices more important than ever.

Key topics discussed:

• The role of a Technical Coach and the Samman Method explained
• How AI amplifies good engineering practices instead of replacing them
• How to use ensemble programming to achieve single-piece flow
• Running effective ensemble sessions and avoiding common failure modes
• Why learning is part of the work, not only a side activity
• Why pull requests should not be the primary tool for mentoring junior developers
• The dangerous trend of “vibe coding” with AI tools

Timestamps:

• (00:00) Trailer & Intro
• (02:22) Career Turning Points
• (03:23) Being Part of Modern Engineering YouTube Channel
• (04:27) The Role of a Technical Coach
• (05:42) The Impact of AI on Technical Coaching
• (08:20) Sofware Engineering is a Learning Process
• (09:55) Optimizing Learning With Samman Method
• (11:40) The Samman Method: Ensemble (Mob Programming)
• (14:59) The Main Benefit of Ensemble: Single Piece Flow
• (17:26) How to Do Ensemble and Avoid Common Failure Modes
• (20:27) The Types of Coding to Ensemble On
• (22:12) The Importance of Trust, Communication, and Kindness
• (23:52) Common Things Development Teams Are Struggling With
• (25:37) Prompt Engineering
• (27:16) The Samman Method: Learning Hours
• (29:08) Learning is Part of the Work
• (31:32) The Practice of Learning as a Team
• (34:39) The Constraint When Learning from Pull Requests
• (36:30) Putting Aside Time for Learning Hours
• (39:14) Becoming a Technical Coach
• (41:23) How to Measure the Effectiveness of Technical Coaching
• (43:52) Danger of AI Assisted Coding
• (46:59) The (Still) Important Skills in the AI Era
• (49:56) Why We Should Not Refactor Through AI
• (52:41) The Samman Method & Technical Coaching Resources
• (53:29) 3 Tech Lead Wisdom
• (54:56) Finding Mentors for Career Progression

_____

Emily Bache’s Bio
Emily Bache is an independent consultant, YouTuber and Technical Coach. She works with developers, training and coaching effective agile practices like Refactoring and Test-Driven Development.

Emily has worked with software development for 25 years, written two books and teaches courses on platforms including Pluralsight and O’Reilly. A frequent conference speaker, Emily has been invited to keynote at prestigious developer events including EuroPython, Craft and ACCU. Emily founded the Samman Technical Coaching Society in order to promote technical excellence and support coaches everywhere.

Follow Emily:

• LinkedIn – linkedin.com/in/emilybache
• X – x.com/emilybache
• Mastodon – sw-development-is.social/web/@emilybache
• GitHub – github.com/emilybache
• Website – emilybache.com
• Samman Coaching – sammancoaching.org
• YouTube – youtube.com/@EmilyBache-tech-coach
• Modern Software Engineering – youtube.com/@ModernSoftwareEngineeringYT

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Why do engineering teams slow down as they scale? It’s not the technology—it’s the management systems.

In this episode, Michi Kono, CTO at Garner Health and former engineering leader at Meta, Capital One, and Stripe, shares his battle-tested approach to building scalable engineering organizations. We explore why most teams slow down as they scale and how to build systems that accelerate growth. Our conversation covers everything from designing effective org charts to creating accountability without killing psychological safety. You’ll learn practical strategies for nurturing engineering culture while maintaining high-performance standards.

Key topics discussed:

• The challenges of hypergrowth and the need to constantly reinvent yourself
• How to avoid slowdowns by holding teams accountable for outcomes, not just shipping code
• The art of designing org charts that maximize team autonomy
• Building a culture of accountability and learning from mistakes without blame
• When managers should stop writing code (and why this decision matters)
• The difference between being a people manager and an executive
• Why communication becomes the most critical skill at senior levels

Timestamps:

• (00:00) Trailer & Intro
• (02:10) Career Turning Points
• (03:55) Skills Advice for Engineers
• (06:46) The Challenges of a Hypergrowth Company
• (09:09) Learning and Growing in a Hypergrowth Company
• (12:07) The Slowdown in Engineering as You Scale
• (15:55) Designing Organization Structure Well
• (18:11) Effective Organization Chart Tips
• (21:05) Nurturing a Good Engineering Culture
• (25:37) Nurturing Psychological Safety
• (28:14) Learning from Mistakes & Performance Review
• (30:27) Being a Mission-Driven Company
• (32:11) Aligning Mission and Values in the Day-to-Day Work
• (34:45) The Importance of Management System in Organization
• (41:53) The Importance of Having Good Managers
• (45:30) For Strong ICs: Writing Code or Being a Manager?
• (50:55) The Difference Between a Manager Role and Executive Role
• (56:01) A Unique Thing Learned from Doing Payment Systems
• (58:43) 3 Tech Lead Wisdom

_____

Michi Kono’s Bio
Michi Kono is the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at Garner Health, a company on a mission to help people get better healthcare. With a unique and extensive career spanning multiple industries, Michi has navigated the entire spectrum of the tech world. He began his journey in startups, one of which was acquired, leading him to a role at Capital One. From there, he gained invaluable experience at tech giants like Meta and financial-tech leader Stripe before taking the helm at Garner Health. Michi is passionate about the art and science of scaling engineering teams, building resilient cultures, and designing effective management systems to drive success in high-growth environments. He believes deeply in empowering engineers, fostering accountability, and the critical importance of clear communication for any leader.

Follow Michi:

• LinkedIn – linkedin.com/in/michikono
• Twitter – x.com/michikono
• Garner Health – getgarner.com

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Show notes & transcript: techleadjournal.dev/episodes/229.
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How do you build a high-performing engineering team in the AI era? And will AI make fundamental engineering skills obsolete?

In this episode, Mohan Krishnan, Head of Engineering at Grab, shares lessons from leading multiple transformational engineering teams. Drawing from his experience at Grab, Bukalapak, BBM Emtek, and Pivotal Labs, Mohan explains why core engineering fundamentals still matter, even in the age of AI, and will become even more valuable than ever. He discusses building disciplined, high-performing engineering teams and the importance of hands-on leadership. We also explore the unique challenges and vast potential of the tech landscape in Southeast Asia.

Key topics discussed:

• Why foundational skills like TDD and system design are becoming more critical in the age of generative AI
• How to effectively use AI as a pair programmer for upskilling and idea generation, while avoiding the pitfalls of “vibe coding”
• Mohan’s “sports team” analogy for building successful engineering teams with discipline, a mix of seniority, and a culture of deep learning
• The importance of hands-on technical leadership, and why even CTOs should “dive deep” to set the right engineering bar
• The state of engineering talent in Southeast Asia and what’s needed to bridge the gap in deep tech and AI development
• Actionable career advice for junior and mid-career professionals navigating the AI-infused software industry

Timestamps:

• (00:00:00) Trailer & Intro
• (00:02:08) Career Turning Points
• (00:06:03) Things We Should Learn in the AI Era
• (00:09:53) AI as a Pair Programmer
• (00:13:58) The Danger of Outsourcing Our Thinking to AI
• (00:17:29) The Dopamine Hit of Using AI
• (00:20:36) Building a Successful Transformational Engineering Team
• (00:25:33) The Discipline Rigor in An Engineering Team
• (00:29:14) Understanding & Delivering Outcomes for the Business
• (00:32:21) Having a Tough Approach as an Engineering Leader
• (00:39:07) Going Back as an IC at Google
• (00:45:40) The Importance of Being Hands-On with Recent Technologies for Leaders
• (00:52:40) Hands-on vs Micromanagement
• (00:55:11) Engineering Talents in Southeast Asia
• (00:58:06) Building Tech Talents in Southeast Asia
• (01:01:17) Bridging the AI Gap in Southeast Asia
• (01:04:03) Should We Still Pursue a Tech Career in the AI Era?
• (01:07:24) 2 Tech Lead Wisdom

_____

Mohan Krishnan’s Bio
Mohan Krishnan, based in Singapore, is currently a Head of Engineering at Grab. Mohan Krishnan brings experience from previous roles at Google, Bukalapak, BBM and Pt. Kreatif Media Karya. Mohan Krishnan holds a 1998 - 2002 Bachelor of Engineering in Multimedia, Electronics at Multimedia University. With a robust skill set that includes Ruby on Rails, Multithreading, Web Services, HTML, Services and more.

Follow Mohan:

• LinkedIn – linkedin.com/in/mohangk

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Show notes & transcript: techleadjournal.dev/episodes/228.
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How has Infrastructure as Code changed in the last five years? Explore the key shifts and how to align your infrastructure to real business value.

In this episode, Kief Morris, a Distinguished Infrastructure Engineer at Thoughtworks, returns to discuss the third edition of his book “Infrastructure as Code.” He shares fresh insights on designing and delivering dynamic systems for today’s cloud-driven world. Kief explores the evolution of IaC, practical methods for modern teams, the next generation of tools, and lessons learned from the recent years. Learn how to align infrastructure with business needs and manage today’s growing infrastructure complexities.

Key topics discussed:

• How “Infrastructure as Code” book has evolved across three editions
• Why infrastructure decisions must align with business value
• How IaC and the toolchain have evolved over the last few years
• Handling the growing complexity of modern infrastructure
• The rise of platform engineering and internal developer platforms
• Terraform vs. OpenTofu: which one should you use?
• Balancing governance, speed, and innovation in the cloud era
• The current limitations and role of AI in managing infrastructure

Timestamps:

• (00:00) Trailer & Intro
• (02:39) Updates in the Last Five Years
• (04:13) Infrastructure as Code Definition
• (05:58) The Practice of Infrastructure as Code
• (06:32) The Differences Between the Book Editions
• (10:21) Aligning Infrastructure to the Business Value
• (15:03) Handling the Growing Infrastructure Complexities
• (19:10) The Tools and New Inventions in IAC
• (24:11) Terraform vs OpenTofu
• (27:38) Orchestrating Infrastructure Changes Using IAC
• (30:35) Platform Engineering
• (33:06) Internal Developer Platform Key Success Factor
• (37:15) Key Considerations of Building Teams with Infrastructure Skills
• (41:56) Infrastructure Compliance and Governance
• (45:53) Using AI for Infrastructure as Code
• (50:31) Using AI for Troubleshooting and Root Cause Analysis
• (51:50) 3 Tech Lead Wisdom

_____

Kief Morris’s Bio
Kief Morris is the author of the O’Reilly book Infrastructure as Code, and is a Distinguished Infrastructure Engineer at Thoughtworks, based in London. He works with clients and project teams around the world to explore, shape, and share better ways of working with cloud and infrastructure architecture.

Kief started out as a developer and systems administrator in the dot-com boom days, then worked with a series of digital scaleups applying infrastructure automation before DevOps was a thing. He joined Thoughtworks in 2010 as the wider industry was discovering Infrastructure as Code, DevOps, and Cloud, which gave him the opportunity to bring what he had learned in the previous fifteen years to enterprise clients in many industries and many countries.

He wrote the book Infrastructure as Code (now on the third edition) to share these ideas with a wider audience, which has given him a platform to meet and learn from an ever-growing variety of people and organizations.

Follow Kief:

• LinkedIn – linkedin.com/in/kiefmorris
• Twitter – x.com/kief
• BlueSky – bsky.app/profile/kief.com
• Personal Website – kief.com
• Infra as Code Website – infrastructure-as-code.com
•  Infrastructure as Code – https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/infrastructure-as-code/9781098150341/

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Show notes & transcript: techleadjournal.dev/episodes/227.
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Ever wondered how AI is being applied in the world of clinical trials where human lives are at stake?

In this episode, Patrick Leung, CTO of Faro Health and former Google Duplex Engineering Lead, reveals how AI is transforming the clinical trial process — a process that can cost up to $2 billion per drug and take over 10 years to complete. Patrick reveals how Faro Health’s AI systems generate complex clinical documentation in minutes instead of months in which hallucinations aren’t acceptable, while navigating the strict regulatory requirements of the healthcare industry.

Patrick also reflects on the evolution of AI technologies, the realities of large language models, and offers practical advice on how to thrive in the rapidly changing AI-driven era.

Key topics discussed:

• The evolution of AI from image recognition and Google Duplex to LLMs
• How Faro Health uses AI to transform clinical trial process
• The challenges of applying AI in highly regulated industries
• AI’s potential to save time and millions in clinical trials
• How to tackle AI hallucinations and ensure high-quality outputs
• Patrick’s thoughts on AGI and the future of AI beyond current capabilities
• The viability and limitations of vibe coding
• Strategies and advice for individuals to thrive in the AI era

Timestamps:

• (00:00) Trailer & Intro
• (02:09) Career Turning Points
• (02:46) The Advancements of AI in the Past 10 Years
• (04:13) Non-LLM Types of AI
• (05:42) The Google Duplex
• (07:28) The Use of AI in Faro Health
• (09:44) Tackling AI Hallucination for Clinical Documents
• (12:25) Building the Evaluation Process on AI Results
• (14:28) AI as a Research Assistant
• (16:40) The Need of Building Custom AI Model
• (18:50) The Huge Impact of AI in Clinical Trials
• (21:15) The Regulations on Applying AI Technology
• (23:28) AI Success Stories in the Life Science Industry
• (25:16) The Possibility of AGI
• (28:36) The Path to AGI Using LLM
• (30:43) Actions People Should Take in the AI Era
• (35:48) AI Engineers and AI-Enabled Engineers
• (38:37) The Viability of Vibe Coding
• (41:03) Hiring AI Engineers
• (42:26) Important Engineer Attributes in the AI Era
• (44:23) Important Leader Attributes in the AI Era
• (46:59) The Room for Juniors in the AI Era
• (49:04) Inspirational Story of a Successful Junior
• (51:33) 3 Tech Lead Wisdom

_____

Patrick Leung’s Bio
Patrick Leung is a Chief Technology Officer at Faro Health, a company at the forefront of optimizing clinical trial development through the use of artificial intelligence.

In his role, he is instrumental in applying large language models and other AI technologies to enhance protocol design and outcomes for clinical trials. A native of New Zealand, Mr. Leung holds degrees in Computer Science and Finance.

His career includes being a foundational member of an early e-commerce software company, where he played a key role in guiding the company from its initial stages to a successful initial public offering.

Follow Patrick:

• LinkedIn – linkedin.com/in/puiwah
• Twitter – x.com/puiwah
• Website – farohealth.com

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Show notes & transcript: techleadjournal.dev/episodes/226.
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Is your engineering team running like the wild, wild west? What does engineering excellence look like in practice?

In this episode, Ganesh Datta, co-founder and CTO of Cortex, explores what it takes to achieve engineering excellence. Ganesh shares lessons from his own journey, from early bug-fixing to building a company focused on engineering excellence.

We discuss how platform engineering and internal developer platforms (IDPs) can help teams scale, improve reliability, and align with business outcomes. Ganesh also explains why culture, leadership, and clear metrics matter more than any single tool.

If you’re looking to make your engineering team a true business driver, this conversation is for you.

Key topics discussed:

• How to define engineering excellence and why it’s tied to business outcomes.
• The critical role of leadership in connecting engineering initiatives to business values.
• When to invest in platform engineering and internal developer platforms as your team grows.
• Common misconceptions about platform engineering.
• The importance of clear metrics, shared language, and transparency for continuous improvement.
• Building a culture that supports operational excellence through rituals and repeated messaging.
• Real-world examples of using generative AI to accelerate platform adoption and incident analysis.

Timestamps:

• (00:00) Trailer & Intro
• (01:56) Career Turning Points
• (07:50) The Practice of Finding the Patterns in Issues
• (11:39) The Definition of Engineering Excellence
• (17:10) The Leader’s Role in Engineering Excellence
• (22:31) Aligning Engineering Excellence with the Business Outcomes
• (26:30) The Importance of Metrics in Engineering Excellence
• (33:35) The Culture that Drives Engineering Excellence
• (39:05) Platform Engineering and Internal Developer Platform
• (45:02) The Biggest Misconception of Platform Engineering or IDP
• (50:36) Cortex as an Engineering Excellence Platform
• (52:39) Generative AI Use Case in Platform Engineering
• (55:26) 3 Tech Lead Wisdom

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Ganesh Datta’s Bio
Ganesh Datta is a Co-Founder & CTO of Cortex. Before co-founding Cortex, he was a Principal Software Engineer at Mission Lane where he was responsible for driving the development of real-time underwriting infrastructure. At LendUp, Ganesh was a Senior Software Engineer leading the development and optimization of the company’s decisioning infrastructure and financial account management system. Ganesh holds a bachelor of science in computer science from the University of California San Diego.

Follow Ganesh:

• LinkedIn – linkedin.com/in/gsdatta
• Twitter – x.com/gsdatta
• Website – www.cortex.io
• Email – [email protected]
• Join Ganesh & Cortex at IDPCon in NYC – ipdcon.com

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Show notes & transcript: techleadjournal.dev/episodes/225.
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Is your software development process stuck on a conveyor belt? Discover how to break free from outdated manufacturing mindsets and build truly high-performing, agile teams that “Move Fast and Break Silos.”

In this episode, experienced CPTO, Klaus Breyer, introduces a revolutionary approach to software development. He explains why treating software engineering like a factory assembly line leads to inefficiency, micromanagement, and disempowered teams. Learn how to slice work effectively—from objectives down to delivery—and align small, empowered teams to solve real customer problems and ship value faster.

Key topics discussed:

• Why software development is a design process instead of a manufacturing process
• How Agile and Scrum has become micromanagement tools
• Why ticketing systems can create communication silos
• How to slice work into objectives, problems, solutions, and delivery
• Giving teams problems to solve, not just solutions to build
• The concept of empowered teams that own their outcomes
• Why small, dynamic groups of 2-3 people work best
• Aligning your teams’ work with company goals and business objectives

Timestamps:

• (00:00) Trailer & Intro
• (02:10) Career Turning Points
• (05:26) Critical Key Skills as CPTO
• (07:40) Juggling Between Being Optimistic vs Pessimistic
• (09:15) Move Fast and Break Silos
• (13:08) The Difference Between Manufacturing and Software Development
• (16:51) The Problems with the Status Quo of Software Development Practices
• (23:50) Key Practice 1: Slicing Work
• (25:51) Slicing Objectives
• (28:30) Slicing Problems
• (33:25) Slicing Solutions
• (38:03) Slicing Delivery
• (41:09) Key Practice 2: Aligning Teams
• (43:21) The Effective Teams Alignment Practices
• (48:10) Working in Small Teams at a Time
• (51:07) Alignment with the Value Streams
• (53:15) Mapping the Sliced Work to the Organization
• (56:41) The Importance of Reporting Structure in the Large Organization
• (58:52) 3 Tech Lead Wisdom

_____

Klaus Breyer’s Bio
Klaus Breyer is an experienced B2B SaaS CPTO who specializes in bridging the gap between technical delivery and agile product strategy, driven by a passion for breaking down silos. His career includes founding and leading the startups Buddybrand (a digital agency) and BuzzBird (a B2B marketplace), as well as building corporate startups and business units for major companies like Voith and edding in the IoT and B2B SaaS sectors.

Based in Berlin, he has extensive experience working with diverse and primarily remote teams. In addition to his leadership roles, he sometimes invests in and advises leadership teams on building effective interdisciplinary teams themselves. He is also a speaker, blogger, and book author who champions the philosophy of “Move Fast And Break Silos!”

Follow Klaus:

• LinkedIn – linkedin.com/in/klaus-breyer
• Twitter – twitter.com/klausbreyer
• Website – v01.io
• Email – [email protected]

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Show notes & transcript: techleadjournal.dev/episodes/224.
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Is AI taking over the craft of coding? Many engineers now face an identity crisis.

In the episode, Distinguished Engineer Annie Vella discusses her research on AI’s impact on software development. She explores the “software engineering identity crisis” as the craft of coding becomes automated. Annie warns that the seductive speed of AI tools can lead to lower quality and delivery instability, a trend supported by reports from DORA and GitClear. She also cautions that over-reliance on AI prevents engineers from gaining the hands-on experience needed for deep skill acquisition.

Key topics discussed:

• How AI is reshaping the software development lifecycle
• The software engineer’s professional identity crisis
• The real danger of over-relying on AI tools
• How to balance the seduction of speed with long-term quality
• Crucial advice for junior engineers entering the industry
• Why leaders must shift focus from speed to quality
• The idea of treating AI as a team member instead of just a tool  

Timestamps:

• (00:00:00) Trailer & Intro
• (00:02:32) AI Impact on Career and Software Engineering
• (00:07:00) The Future of AI-Driven Software Engineering
• (00:14:29) The Shift in the Role of Software Engineer
• (00:22:13) When Writing Code is Not the Bottleneck Anymore
• (00:32:04) The Danger of Over-Reliance on AI
• (00:38:51) The Software Engineering Identity Crisis
• (00:48:09) Advice for Junior Engineers in This Challenging Time
• (00:53:34) The Shift in the Role of Engineering Management
• (00:59:46) You Are Not Alone
• (01:00:50) 3 Tech Lead Wisdom

_____

Annie Vella’s Bio
Annie Vella is a Distinguished Engineer at Westpac NZ with two decades of experience in software engineering and technical leadership across various industries and countries.

Vella has returned to an engineering role after a period in management and is also a part-time Master’s student at the University of Auckland, researching the impact of AI on software engineering. She believes that technologies like Generative AI, LLMs, and Agentic AI will revolutionize the field and problem-solving in general.

Follow Annie:

• LinkedIn – linkedin.com/in/annievella
• X – x.com/codefrenzy
• Website – annievella.com/

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Show notes & transcript: techleadjournal.dev/episodes/223.
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