The Peterman Pod

In this episode, I talked to Marc Brooker, a distinguished engineer at AWS who started there as a new grad and rose through the ranks. We discussed technical learnings from 3,000+ cloud system postmortems, how software engineering is changing with AI, how to find impactful problems and much more.🔶 My keyboard Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ryanlpeterman/compose-simple-ergonomics-beautifully-done𝗣𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸𝘀:• YouTube: https://youtu.be/u3GjIXP9N0s• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1qX2GfpbzxzGpGvDZVINdO?si=wsDGZo9PTbCNalKVybFVnA• Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-peterman-pod/id1777363835• Transcript: https://www.developing.dev/p/aws-distinguished-eng-learnings-from𝗘𝗽𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗱𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸𝘀:• Post we discussed on hobbies and apparent expertise: https://brooker.co.za/blog/2023/04/20/hobbies.html• Post on software engineering changing: https://brooker.co.za/blog/2026/02/07/you-are-here.html• Post about Senior engineers and AI: https://brooker.co.za/blog/2026/03/20/ic-leadership.html• Post on Junior engineers and AI: https://brooker.co.za/blog/2026/03/25/ic-junior.html𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗺𝗽𝘀:0:00 - Intro1:27 - Finding problems that matter11:42 - Learnings from 3000 postmortems23:58 - Why caches are bad29:37 - How AI will change software engineering36:49 - Advice for junior engineers given AI44:02 - Thoughts for senior engineers49:59 - Why engineers should write57:51 - Visibility and apparent expertise1:04:23 - AWS engineers he admires1:06:53 - Technical book recommendations1:09:06 - Advice for his younger self1:10:37 - Outro𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗰:• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marc-brooker-b431772b/• Twitter/X: https://x.com/MarcJBrooker• Personal Blog: https://brooker.co.za/blog/𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝘆𝗮𝗻:• Newsletter: https://www.developing.dev/• X/Twitter: https://x.com/ryanlpeterman• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanlpeterman/• Threads: https://www.threads.com/@ryanlpeterman• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ryanlpeterman• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ryanlpeterman

This is James Everingham, former head of engineering at Instagram and a veteran of the tech world with experience at Netscape. We talked about his unconventional start in the industry, learnings from every leg of his career, and regrets he has looking back.𝗣𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸𝘀:• YouTube: https://youtu.be/VIF5Fm8NdE8• Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-peterman-pod/id1777363835• Transcript: https://www.developing.dev/p/ex-head-of-eng-at-instagram-career𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗺𝗽𝘀:0:00 - Intro0:57 - Kicked out of college5:35 - FBI showed up at his house7:43 - Pre-IPO Netscape experience25:19 - Joining Instagram as head of eng29:12 - Why shrinking teams improves velocity32:59 - Working with Mike Krieger37:16 - Leading Cryptocurrency project at Meta42:30 - What he is working on now54:29 - Career regrets56:27 - Advice for his younger self57:42 - Outro𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗝𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀:• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jevering/• Twitter/X: https://x.com/jevering• Threads: https://www.threads.com/@jevering𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝘆𝗮𝗻:• Newsletter: https://www.developing.dev/• X/Twitter: https://x.com/ryanlpeterman• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanlpeterman/• Threads: https://www.threads.com/@ryanlpeterman• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ryanlpeterman• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ryanlpeterman

Ethan Evans is a former VP at Amazon has seen pretty much every possible type of corporate politics. Now that he's retired, he could share everything he'd seen including stories about empire building, hidden politics, reorgs, senior promos and dealing with bad managers.🔸 The keyboard I'm building: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ryanlpeterman/compose-simple-ergonomics-beautifully-done𝗣𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸𝘀:• YouTube: https://youtu.be/6WaeGfLnRvc• Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-peterman-pod/id1777363835• Transcript: https://www.developing.dev/p/amazon-vp-reveals-everything-hes𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗺𝗽𝘀:00:00 - Intro2:33 - Empire Building31:54 - Stealing scope44:03 - Managing out via reorgs51:01 - Bad managers and mutiny01:01:43 - Political messaging01:11:48 - Handling politically skilled operators01:20:01 - Orgs trying to steal scope01:30:26 - Handling difficult people from other orgs01:36:19 - Handling weak managers01:46:30 - Backchanneling01:52:04 - Influence without authority01:58:04 - Sexual harassment 02:00:49 - Skip overruling firing02:05:39 - How to fire managers02:11:31 - Leverage when people are getting fired02:24:01 - How to grow past senior eng02:43:01 - How to avoid politics02:48:15 - Advice for younger self02:49:51 - Outro𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗘𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻:• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ethanevansvp/• X/Twitter: https://x.com/EthanEvansVP• Newsletter: https://levelupwithethanevans.substack.com/• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-BAdkBGjOIlccGLZ3jbLiA𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝘆𝗮𝗻:• Newsletter: https://www.developing.dev/• X/Twitter: https://x.com/ryanlpeterman• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanlpeterman/• Threads: https://www.threads.com/@ryanlpeterman• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ryanlpeterman• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ryanlpeterman

This is a conversation with Brendan Burns, co-creator of Kubernetes and current technical fellow at Microsoft working on Azure. We discussed what it was like building it at Google, how he got buy-in, and what he learned along the way.🔸 My keyboard project: https://read.compose.llc/p/our-keyboard-design-reveal𝗣𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸𝘀:• YouTube: https://youtu.be/FKijpCEH9D8• Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-peterman-pod/id1777363835• Transcript: https://www.developing.dev/p/the-creator-of-kubernetes-on-building𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗺𝗽𝘀:00:00:00 - Intro00:00:37 - How he convinced Google leaders00:09:26 - Building the MVP00:11:43 - How he made time for Kubernetes00:25:28 - Technical details on building Kubernetes00:38:46 - Rallying the open source community00:50:01 - Scaling Kubernetes up for AI training workloads00:55:31 - Reflections on getting a PhD01:00:22 - The inevitable trajectory of software is death01:04:16 - Top book recommendations01:05:22 - Advice for his younger self01:06:21 - Outro𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗕𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗻:• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendan-burns-487aa590/• Twitter/X: https://x.com/brendandburns• Github: https://github.com/brendandburns𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝘆𝗮𝗻:• Newsletter: https://www.developing.dev/• X/Twitter: https://x.com/ryanlpeterman• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanlpeterman/• Threads: https://www.threads.com/@ryanlpeterman• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ryanlpeterman• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ryanlpeterman

Austen McDonald is a former hiring committee member at Meta, where he led mobile hiring and conducted hundreds of interviews. In this episode, we talked about what happens behind the scenes in a hiring committee, unethical candidates, and the role referrals play.🔸 (Sponsor) Hello Interview's Website - https://www.hellointerview.com/𝗣𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸𝘀:• YouTube: https://youtu.be/nOapM8i5jr0• Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-peterman-pod/id1777363835• Transcript: https://www.developing.dev/p/meta-hiring-lead-on-behind-the-scenes𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗺𝗽𝘀:00:00:00 - Intro00:00:49 - What goes on in hiring committees00:09:02 - Unethical candidates00:12:50 - How leveling is determined00:23:12 - Can you negotiate level mid-process00:32:30 - How non-tech leads can signal scope00:39:11 - Referrals and bias00:45:28 - What the rubric looks like00:50:00 - OpenAI and Anthropic specific discussion00:52:22 - Most common mistakes senior candidates make01:02:31 - How to prep depending on your level01:08:34 - Subjectivity and bias01:21:02 - The questions you ask at the end matter01:23:59 - Storytelling tips01:30:31 - How he got promoted to Senior Manager (M2) at Meta01:33:32 - His biggest career regret01:38:13 - The best advice he ever received01:39:54 - Advice for younger self01:41:46 - Outro𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻:• LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/austenmc/• His book - https://thebehavioral.tech/𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝘆𝗮𝗻:• Newsletter: https://www.developing.dev/• X/Twitter: https://x.com/ryanlpeterman• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanlpeterman/• Threads: https://www.threads.com/@ryanlpeterman• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ryanlpeterman• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ryanlpeterman

This is Michael Bolin, the tech lead for the open source Codex repository and a former distinguished engineer at Meta. We talked about his career path, how OpenAI engineers use Codex and the difference between research-led vs engineering-led company cultures.🔸 My keyboard project: https://read.compose.llc/p/our-keyboard-design-reveal𝗣𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸𝘀:• YouTube: https://youtu.be/hN5ZFzWFhhg• Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-peterman-pod/id1777363835• Transcript: https://www.developing.dev/p/openai-codex-tech-lead-on-how-his𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗺𝗽𝘀:00:00:00 - Intro00:00:56 - Chickenfoot00:02:45 - Working at Google00:06:34 - Overhauling Facebook's build system00:16:36 - Rewriting Facebook's IDE00:26:01 - Struggles after Principal Eng (E8) promo00:28:39 - Building a virtual filesystem for Facebook00:35:47 - Delayed Distinguished promo (E9) and learnings00:39:56 - Joining OpenAI00:43:05 - Research-led vs engineering-led cultures00:44:53 - The story behind Codex00:51:00 - How he uses Codex00:57:00 - Why Codex's harness is open source00:59:50 - Top technical book recommendations01:05:02 - Why deep technical skills are still valuable (for now)01:11:07 - How to start projects well01:14:27 - Advice on writing better and career planning01:17:06 - Advice for his younger self01:19:10 - Outro𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗠𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗲𝗹:• His personal blog - https://blog.bolinfest.com/• Twitter/X - https://x.com/bolinfest• Threads - https://www.threads.com/@bolinfest• LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-bolin-7632712𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝘆𝗮𝗻:• Newsletter: https://www.developing.dev/• X/Twitter: https://x.com/ryanlpeterman• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanlpeterman/• Threads: https://www.threads.com/@ryanlpeterman• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ryanlpeterman• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ryanlpeterman

Bryan Cantrill was a distinguished engineer at Sun Microsystems and has now founded his own company called Oxide Computer Company. We discussed his career experiences through boom/busts, what competing with Bezos was like, and career regrets.𝗣𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸𝘀:• YouTube: https://youtu.be/qhSL-5GtmQM• Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-peterman-pod/id1777363835• Transcript: https://www.developing.dev/p/distinguished-eng-on-stack-ranking𝗘𝗽𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗱𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸𝘀:• Link to the part in the talk on Oracle/Sun we discussed - https://youtu.be/-zRN7XLCRhc?si=eExjIMZROGjJcDsw&t=1977𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗺𝗽𝘀:00:00:00 - Intro00:00:42 - Working at Sun Microsystems00:10:17 - His growth to distinguished eng00:19:14 - Why goaling on promotion is bad00:29:34 - Stack ranking and layoffs00:36:00 - Why he hated the Oracle acquisition00:44:19 - Why Bezos is the apex predator of capitalism00:48:04 - Differences between CTO and VP00:49:58 - Starting his own company01:02:37 - Grilling him on his past01:11:57 - AI boom and bust advice01:14:41 - When he was happiest in his career01:17:22 - Top career regret01:19:21 - Advice for younger self01:20:57 - Outro𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗕𝗿𝘆𝗮𝗻:• LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryan-cantrill-b6a1/• Twitter/X - https://x.com/bcantrill• Personal Website - https://bcantrill.dtrace.org/• His company - https://oxide.computer/𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝘆𝗮𝗻:• Newsletter: https://www.developing.dev/• X/Twitter: https://x.com/ryanlpeterman• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanlpeterman/• Threads: https://www.threads.com/@ryanlpeterman• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ryanlpeterman• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ryanlpeterman

I interviewed Leslie Lamport, a Turing Award winner known for his contributions to distributed systems and the inventor of the Paxos algorithm. We walked through the major contributions of his career for the stories behind them and what he learned along the way.🔸 My keyboard project: https://read.compose.llc/p/our-keyboard-design-reveal𝗣𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸𝘀:• YouTube: https://youtu.be/U719vQz-WFs• Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-peterman-pod/id1777363835• Transcript: https://www.developing.dev/p/turing-award-winner-on-working-with𝗘𝗽𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗱𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸𝘀:• Bakery Problem Paper: https://lamport.azurewebsites.net/pubs/bakery.pdf• Time Clocks Paper (most cited): https://lamport.azurewebsites.net/pubs/time-clocks.pdf• The Byzantine Generals Problem Paper: https://lamport.azurewebsites.net/pubs/byz.pdf• The Paxos Algorithm Paper: https://lamport.azurewebsites.net/pubs/lamport-paxos.pdf𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗺𝗽𝘀:00:00:00 - Intro00:01:25 - The Bakery Algorithm00:08:28 - Experiences with Dijkstra00:14:44 - His most cited paper00:23:26 - The "Byzantine Generals" problem00:38:05 - The Paxos Algorithm00:46:57 - Paxos vs Raft Algorithm00:51:26 - Building LaTeX00:54:45 - Why writing improves your thinking01:00:21 - Why he wasn't an academic01:02:08 - Grand theory of concurrency01:07:25 - Why he doesn't think he's smart01:09:07 - Advice for his younger self01:09:44 - Outro𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗟𝗲𝘀𝗹𝗶𝗲:• His works: https://lamport.azurewebsites.net/pubs/pubs.html𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝘆𝗮𝗻:• Newsletter: https://www.developing.dev/• X/Twitter: https://x.com/ryanlpeterman• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanlpeterman/• Threads: https://www.threads.com/@ryanlpeterman• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ryanlpeterman• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ryanlpeterman

David Ronca joined Netflix in 2007 and grew to an engineering director there. Later he joined Meta as a Director and transitioned to a Principal engineer working on video technologies. Now he's retired and was graciously willing to share his career story with us. I asked him for everything he learned in his 36 year career.𝗣𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸𝘀:• Transcript: https://www.developing.dev/p/retired-netflix-engineering-director• YouTube: https://youtu.be/ApG9vjbHDCk• Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-peterman-pod/id1777363835𝗘𝗽𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗱𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸𝘀:• Netflix culture memo (2009) - https://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/culture-1798664/1798664𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗺𝗽𝘀:00:00:00 - Intro00:00:40 - How Netflix was different00:08:01 - The legendary Netflix culture memo00:18:54 - How to hire engineers well00:30:52 - The strongest engineer he's ever met00:33:02 - Joining Meta00:50:52 - Near death experience00:59:04 - Where he learned the most01:04:09 - Book that impacted his career most01:11:33 - Advice for his younger self01:18:32 - Outro𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗗𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗱:• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidronca/• Personal Website: https://www.roncatech.com/𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝘆𝗮𝗻:• Newsletter: https://www.developing.dev/• X/Twitter: https://x.com/ryanlpeterman• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanlpeterman/• Threads: https://www.threads.com/@ryanlpeterman• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ryanlpeterman• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ryanlpeterman

This is Adam Ernst, a Distinguished Engineer at Meta (IC9) who’s built iOS infrastructure that has impacted the entire company. We talked about how his career grew, a major failed project of his, and everything he learned growing to that level.🔸 My keyboard project link: https://read.compose.llc/p/our-keyboard-design-reveal𝗣𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸𝘀:• YouTube: https://youtu.be/YA_OYJF3Mmw• Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-peterman-pod/id1777363835• Transcript: https://www.developing.dev/p/meta-distinguished-eng-ic9-on-influencing𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗺𝗽𝘀:00:00:00 - Intro00:00:47 - His middle school company00:03:50 - His first project and promo at Meta00:10:03 - Why code review is undervalued00:12:42 - Senior Staff (IC7) promo story and project00:19:26 - His major failed project00:26:35 - How to handle a failed project00:29:04 - Thoughts on management00:31:35 - Technical depth vs breadth00:33:32 - IC9 expectations00:34:46 - Senior engineers he admires00:37:39 - Advice for his younger self00:39:52 - Outro𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝗱𝗮𝗺:• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamjernst/𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝘆𝗮𝗻:• Newsletter: https://www.developing.dev/• X/Twitter: https://x.com/ryanlpeterman• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanlpeterman/• Threads: https://www.threads.com/@ryanlpeterman• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ryanlpeterman• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ryanlpeterman

Ryan Olson grew from mid-level engineer (IC4) to a principal engineer (IC8) at Instagram through a series of famous projects. The most notable was when he was the lead iOS developer that built Instagram Stories. We discuss his career journey and learnings.𝗣𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸𝘀:• Transcript: https://www.developing.dev/p/instagram-principal-eng-ic8-on-building• Spotify: Episode link from Spotify after scheduling• YouTube: https://youtu.be/gpVETZnY9Y0• Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-peterman-pod/id1777363835• Zuckerberg emails I mentioned:Twitter link: https://x.com/TechEmails/status/1944451283236303184Threads link: https://www.threads.com/@techemails/post/DMDi5IWpPyC𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗺𝗽𝘀:00:00:00 - Intro00:00:31 - Failing his FB interview00:03:27 - Interning /w future billionaires00:14:08 - Interview nerves tip00:16:37 - Early Instagram experiences00:34:08 - Building Instagram Stories00:45:03 - 1 promo per half to Staff (IC6)00:49:51 - Senior staff promo project (IC7)00:57:37 - IG labs & his principal promo (IC8)01:08:19 - Starting Retro and leaving big tech01:21:33 - Small teams hypothetical01:25:17 - Examples of talented individuals01:31:16 - Advice to his younger self01:34:45 - Outro𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝘆𝗮𝗻:• Retro (his company): https://retro.app/• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanolsonk/• X/Twitter: https://x.com/ryanolsonk• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ryanolsonk/ • Threads: https://www.threads.com/@ryanolsonk𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝘆𝗮𝗻:• Newsletter: https://www.developing.dev/• X/Twitter: https://x.com/ryanlpeterman• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanlpeterman/• Threads: https://www.threads.com/@ryanlpeterman• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ryanlpeterman• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ryanlpeterman

In this episode, I talked to "Asian Dad Energy" an anonymous big techie who was laid off after 25 years in the industry. We discussed his layoffs experience, his early career in engineering consulting, and the realities of big tech compensation.🔸 My keyboard project link: https://read.compose.llc/p/our-keyboard-design-reveal𝗣𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸𝘀:• YouTube: https://youtu.be/8bs6KmJX4_g• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4ApCuf04MXv0nBRqKNLyiQ?si=bko-M46xQM2FHhTG6Vcy6Q• Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-peterman-pod/id1777363835• Transcript: https://www.developing.dev/p/laid-off-from-big-tech-after-25-years𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗺𝗽𝘀:00:00:00 - Intro00:00:41 - His layoff story00:07:02 - Why he expects more layoffs00:09:42 - Tech consulting before big tech00:19:25 - Consultants shipping bad code?00:26:57 - Why do people dislike consultants?00:30:55 - Big tech compensation00:40:27 - When age impacted his flexibility00:42:04 - Why YouTube00:46:46 - Speaking advice for engineers00:49:09 - Advice for younger self00:49:35 - Outro𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗶𝗺:• https://www.youtube.com/@AsianDadEnergy𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝘆𝗮𝗻:• Newsletter: https://www.developing.dev/• X/Twitter: https://x.com/ryanlpeterman• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanlpeterman/• Threads: https://www.threads.com/@ryanlpeterman• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ryanlpeterman• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ryanlpeterman

In this episode, I talked to Nimit Sohoni, a Stanford PhD and AI Researcher at Cartesia who previously worked as a quant at Citadel. We discussed the differences between AI research and quant careers, including work-life balance and the value of a PhD in these fields. Nimit also shared what he's currently working on and offered advice for those looking to transition into AI research.𝗣𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸𝘀:• YouTube: https://youtu.be/_jECS37M3dQ• Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-peterman-pod/id1777363835• Transcript: https://www.developing.dev/p/stanford-phd-ai-researcher-and-quant𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗺𝗽𝘀:00:00:00 - Intro00:00:45 - Do you need a PhD?00:06:25 - Research taste and finding problems00:09:04 - Why become a quant00:12:01 - What quants do00:14:53 - How quants and SWEs collaborate00:16:29 - Quant vs tech culture00:26:39 - Quant firm tier list00:27:56 - Quant insider trading and perf culture00:30:53 - Going back to AI research00:35:08 - Who the top competitors are in voice AI00:39:22 - AI startups vs big labs00:42:08 - State space models vs transformers00:49:33 - AI labs: research or product?00:52:38 - Advice for SWEs who want to try AI research00:56:48 - Advice for younger self00:57:49 - Outro𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗡𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘁:• Twitter/X: https://x.com/nimit_sohoni• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nimit-sohoni-68998854/• Cartesia: https://cartesia.ai/sonic𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝘆𝗮𝗻:• Newsletter: https://www.developing.dev/• X/Twitter: https://x.com/ryanlpeterman• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanlpeterman/• Threads: https://www.threads.com/@ryanlpeterman• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ryanlpeterman• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ryanlpeterman

In this episode, I talked to Igor, a senior staff engineer who has worked at Meta, Google, and Cruise. We discussed his experience of wanting a demotion at Meta and the challenges he faced in that process.𝗣𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸𝘀:• YouTube: https://youtu.be/i1iBweuOQI4• Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-peterman-pod/id1777363835• Transcript: https://www.developing.dev/p/meta-senior-staff-ic7-engs-honest𝗘𝗽𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗱𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸𝘀:• Igor's post: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7401415295409700864/𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗺𝗽𝘀:00:00:00 - Intro00:00:37 - Why he wanted a demotion00:07:32 - Why Senior Staff at Meta was different00:16:01 - Meta vs Google culture00:19:09 - Downleveling at Google00:23:17 - Why he's willing to be transparent00:25:11 - Best quality of life eng level00:30:42 - Senior Staff promo at Google00:42:27 - Mentorship stories00:43:11 - Biggest career regret00:46:46 - Advice for younger self00:49:06 - Outro𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗜𝗴𝗼𝗿:• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/igorts/• ML basics youtube videos he made: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVcptlT8D7DgN5FtLMFUdHb5pJXW1g0YL𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝘆𝗮𝗻:• Newsletter: https://www.developing.dev/• X/Twitter: https://x.com/ryanlpeterman• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanlpeterman/• Threads: https://www.threads.com/@ryanlpeterman• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ryanlpeterman• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ryanlpeterman

Laurent Charignon was a Staff engineer at Stripe, Airbnb, and Instagram with some experience in management as well. We discussed the unspoken rules you learn as a manager, how he transitioned, what good mentorship looks like, and advice for senior engineers who are stuck looking to grow to Staff.𝗣𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸𝘀:• Transcript: https://www.developing.dev/p/airbnb-staff-eng-on-how-to-not-get• YouTube: https://youtu.be/cgQY_1Uz2b8• Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-peterman-pod/id1777363835𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗺𝗽𝘀:00:00:00 - Intro00:00:44 - Joining Airbnb and transitioning to EM00:18:29 - Untold rules of calibrations00:23:50 - How to dispute bureaucracy00:29:54 - Airbnb culture00:31:36 - Leaving Airbnb for Meta00:35:56 - Uber TL at Stripe00:42:52 - How to scale yourself00:45:22 - What people get wrong in coaching00:52:58 - Why people get stuck at Senior eng00:57:24 - Most career impacting book00:58:39 - Advice for younger self01:00:27 - Outro𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗟𝗮𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁:• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurentcharignon/• Personal Website: https://blog.laurentcharignon.com/• Twitter/X: https://x.com/lc2817𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝘆𝗮𝗻:• Newsletter: https://www.developing.dev/• X/Twitter: https://x.com/ryanlpeterman• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanlpeterman/• Threads: https://www.threads.com/@ryanlpeterman• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ryanlpeterman• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ryanlpeterman

Adrien Friggeri went from a new grad to a principal engineer (IC8) at Meta. He is the original TL who started Bento if you’re familiar with that infra at the company. He got to where he was through a series of promotions across different teams and projects. I interviewed him about everything he learned along the way𝗣𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸𝘀:• Transcript: https://www.developing.dev/p/new-grad-to-principal-engineer-ic8• YouTube: https://youtu.be/2Sjzd9pt6Ts• Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-peterman-pod/id1777363835𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗺𝗽𝘀:00:00 - Intro00:43 - First team at FB07:24 - Senior promo /w IG16:30 - Story behind Bento (Senior staff promo)25:33 - Taking on perf risk to start the project29:03 - Learnings from leaving big tech32:46 - Joining Clubhouse35:08 - Return to Meta (again)40:51 - Principal promo (IC8) and tips51:37 - Maximizing your luck /w people54:26 - Advice for younger self55:42 - Outro𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝗱𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻:• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/friggeri/• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adrien/• Personal Website: https://friggeri.net/𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝘆𝗮𝗻:• Newsletter: https://www.developing.dev/• X/Twitter: https://x.com/ryanlpeterman• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanlpeterman/• Threads: https://www.threads.com/@ryanlpeterman• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ryanlpeterman• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ryanlpeterman

Fiona Fung currently supports the Claude Code team at Anthropic and was previously a Senior Director at Meta. She grew quickly through the ranks at Microsoft and Meta before joining Anthropic. I interviewed her about what she learned along the way.𝗣𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸𝘀:• Transcript: https://www.developing.dev/p/anthropic-eng-leader-and-ex-senior• YouTube: https://youtu.be/b5-d8u-c99s• Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-peterman-pod/id1777363835𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗺𝗽𝘀:00:00 - Intro00:38 - Impact vs team health03:04 - Managing managers for the first time05:31 - Advice on mentoring others06:55 - What you should use 1 on 1s for07:56 - Leaving Microsoft for Facebook10:59 - Microsoft vs Facebook culture12:01 - Why dogfooding is important 21:25 - Joining Anthropic27:23 - Feedback that changed her career28:43 - Advice for younger self29:14 - Outro𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗙𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮:• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fionafung/𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝘆𝗮𝗻:• Newsletter: https://www.developing.dev/• X/Twitter: https://x.com/ryanlpeterman• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanlpeterman/• Threads: https://www.threads.com/@ryanlpeterman• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ryanlpeterman• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ryanlpeterman

Hi all, it's been such a fun project for me this year launching this podcast and trying my best to make the content as helpful as possibleAppreciate everyone who has taken the time to watch my videos and give feedback on how to make it betterIt wouldn't be the same without your support! Next year I plan to work hard to keep improving the content, see you in 2026𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗺𝗽𝘀:00:00 - Intro00:50 - Meta Distinguished Eng (Philip Su)05:23 - Amazon Principal Eng (Steve Huynh)06:23 - Google Staff Eng by 28 (Ricky Lee)07:30 - Meta Staff Eng by 25 (Evan King)08:51 - Shopify Distinguished Eng (Ilya Grigorik)10:49 - Amazon VP (Ethan Evans)12:24 - Meta Senior Staff Eng (Dwayne Reeves)13:14 - CloudKitchens CTO, Ex Uber Senior Staff (Brian Attwell)13:55 - Instagram Principal Eng (Jake Bolam)14:42 - Uber Distinguished Eng (Joakim Recht)15:03 - Creator of Claude Code, Ex Meta Principal (Boris Cherny)15:45 - Outro

Rong Yan went from a frontline manager at Meta to a Senior Director at Snapchat in 3 years. I interviewed him to ask what led to that rocketship career trajectory in management. We went over how he job hopped into his first Director role and much more.𝗣𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸𝘀:• Transcript: https://www.developing.dev/p/frontline-manager-at-meta-to-senior• YouTube: https://youtu.be/BHlko_Mg-Jk• Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-peterman-pod/id1777363835𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗺𝗽𝘀:00:00 - Intro00:46 - Joining Facebook03:06 - Moving up into a Director role05:09 - Director skill gaps15:31 - Domain knowledge & management18:45 - LA vs SF cultures20:48 - Senior Director growth at Snapchat22:43 - Evan Spiegel stories24:59 - Recruitment at higher levels32:05 - Career planning in hindsight34:08 - Biggest career regret35:33 - How much of growth is luck?38:19 - Advice for younger self41:53 - Outro𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝗼𝗻𝗴:• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rong-yan-2004692/• Personal Website: https://cs.cmu.edu/~yanrong𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝘆𝗮𝗻:• Newsletter: https://www.developing.dev/• X/Twitter: https://x.com/ryanlpeterman• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanlpeterman/• Threads: https://www.threads.com/@ryanlpeterman• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ryanlpeterman• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ryanlpeterman

Boris Cherny is the Creator of Claude Code but few people know his full career story. I interviewed him about everything he learned growing at Meta and for insights from his time building Claude Code at Anthropic. 𝗣𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸𝘀:• Transcript: https://www.developing.dev/p/boris-cherny-creator-of-claude-code• YouTube: https://youtu.be/AmdLVWMdjOk• Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-peterman-pod/id1777363835𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗺𝗽𝘀:00:00:00 - Intro00:00:59 - Starting at FB00:09:43 - Early side projects and book rec00:17:05 - Being under leveled00:18:55 - Staff (IC6) promo story00:25:19 - Proximity to leadership learnings00:29:36 - Scoping out work for 100s of engs00:35:31 - Senior Staff (IC7) promo story00:44:39 - How to find side projects00:50:45 - Principal (IC8) promo story00:54:20 - Building credibility in a new org01:04:23 - Joining Anthropic01:10:05 - Why Claude Code succeeded01:15:56 - Claude Code use outside of code 01:17:22 - What he thinks of competition01:22:57 - Advice for his younger self01:23:57 - Outro𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗕𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘀:• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bcherny/• X/Twitter: https://x.com/bcherny• Threads: https://www.threads.com/@boris_cherny𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝘆𝗮𝗻:• Newsletter: https://www.developing.dev/• X/Twitter: https://x.com/ryanlpeterman• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanlpeterman/• Threads: https://www.threads.com/@ryanlpeterman• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ryanlpeterman• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ryanlpeterman