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Dev Interrupted

Dev Interrupted
Author: LinearB
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© 2025 Dev Interrupted
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The Dev Interrupted Podcast is the premier podcast for software engineering leaders. Hosts Dan Lines, Ben Lloyd Pearson, and Andrew Zigler invite expert guests from around the world to explore strategy and day-to-day topics ranging from dev team metrics to accelerating delivery. Join us weekly for new episodes.
222 Episodes
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Think building killer APIs like Stripe or Twilio is purely a technical feat? Think again. This week, we dive into why crafting successful APIs is fundamentally an organizational challenge, demanding internal excellence long before code is deployed. Sagar Batchu, co-founder and CEO of Speakeasy, joins us to unpack the crucial role of ownership, design principles, and why even internal APIs benefit from treating them like first-class products. Discover how Conway's Law dictates your API's fate ...
When it comes to securing software, most developers feel like they're playing catch-up instead of setting the rules. Tanya Janca (SheHacksPurple), author of "Alice and Bob Learn Secure Coding," brings her 28 years of IT and security expertise—spanning counter-terrorism to enterprise training—to Dev Interrupted. She unpacks the common pitfalls teams face when security is treated as an afterthought, highlighting the developer frustration of being held accountable for security without the tools ...
Is your company rushing headlong into AI, only to find it's a 'square peg in a round hole'? This week, Andrew tackles the critical issue of building trust in AI systems with Brooke Hartley Moy, CEO and co-founder of Infactory. Brooke, with her experience at companies like Google and Samsung, cuts through the hype and reveals the biggest misconceptions businesses have about AI. We dive into the 'black box' problem, the importance of high-quality data, and why not all AI is created equal. From ...
AI is evolving at a breakneck speed, leaving engineering leaders with a critical dilemma: innovate or fall behind. But how do you experiment with AI without risking your credibility? Andrew Zigler sits down with Adnan Ijaz, Director of Product Management for Next Gen Developer Experience at AWS, to unpack the power of AI agents. Together they discuss how to leverage autonomous AI in your development workflow, and learn from real-world examples like Amazon Q. Dive into the evolving role ...
Imagine a world where your engineering team ships features at lightning speed, and they're genuinely happy doing it. Sounds like a fantasy? It doesn't have to be. This week, we're diving into the secrets of building high-performing, happy engineering teams with Thanos Diacakis, a fractional CTO and engineering coach with over 25 years of experience spanning companies like Uber, where he optimizes software engineering teams and drives technical innovation. Thanos reveals the common menta...
The promise of Test Driven Development (or TDD) remains unfulfilled. Like many other forms of aspirational development, the practice has fallen victim to countless buzzword cycles. What if the answer is already in our toolbox? This week, host Andrew Zigler sits down with Animesh Mishra, Senior Solutions Engineer at Diffblue, to unpack the gap between TDD's theoretical appeal and its practical challenges. Animesh draws from his extensive experience to explain how deterministic AI can add...
If you're tired of hearing "shift left" in DevSecOps and seeing little real change, you're not alone. In this episode, David Mytton (CEO of ArcJet, founder of Console.dev) breaks down why traditional approaches to developer security often fail. He reveals the core conflict between developers (who want to build fast) and security teams (who want to mitigate risk), and explains why this misalignment of incentives can be detrimental for your software. Learn why simply handing devs more security ...
This week, Andrew Zigler sits down with Dr. Maryam Ashoori, Senior Director of Product Management for watsonx at IBM. Together they discuss the evolving AI stack for enterprise and the growing skill gap challenging developers. Dr. Ashoori shares insights from a recent survey of 1,000 developers, highlighting the need for better tools and strategies to manage the growing AI tool sprawl. The conversation also explores the rise of AI agents, the potential of no-code AI development, and the futu...
This week, Ben and Andrew dive into the (surprisingly?) complex world of calculator apps, analyze how AI is revolutionizing the technical interview, and dissect the emerging “two-tier” economy around AI. What side of the curve does your org fall on? Then, the conversation goes on site to San Francisco, where host Dan Lines hosts Rob Zuber (CTO, CircleCI) and Tara Hernandez (VP of Dev Productivity at MongoDB) for a discussion of LinearB's 2025 Software Engineering Benchmarks Report. We unpac...
Ben and Andrew open the show by dissecting why AI can't see gorillas, how big banks are stepping up to attract tech talent, and why focus is becoming the must-have resource for devs. Then, Vikram Chatterji, co-founder and CEO of Galileo, joins Andrew for a discussion on how engineering leaders can future-proof their AI strategy and navigate an emerging dilemma: the pressure to adopt AI to stay competitive, while justifying AI spend and avoiding risky investments. To accomplish this, Vikram em...
Live from San Francisco, Dev Interrupted explores the future of developer productivity with Ori Keren (CEO, LinearB) and Dharmesh Thakker (General Partner, Battery Ventures). The conversation, recorded before a live audience in San Francisco, examines the exciting possibilities and potential challenges of AI-powered tools, from code completion and review to the more advanced agentic AI. Moderated by Ben Lloyd Pearson, this episode captures the excitement of the event, including audienc...
To open the show, Ben and Andrew dive into the latest headlines about DeepSeek from last week. We answer questions like “why did everyone search ‘Jevons paradox'?” and discuss strategic AI investments from financial giants like Goldman Sachs. These moves underscore the growing importance of strong engineering leadership in the age of AI. Then, Luca Rossi of Refactoring joins us to discuss his latest research. Drawing from a comprehensive survey of engineering professionals (thanks to you...
Ben and Andrew open the show by discussing the emergence of the DeepSeek AI model, Google's shakeup of the SEO landscape, and speculate on whether or not we're seeing the death of free APIs. Then, Ben sits down with Bernd Ruecker, Co-Founder and Chief Technologist at Camunda, to explore how low code solutions are changing the game for developers. They discuss how these tools allow developers to focus on more complex challenges, and delve into the importance of understanding when to leverage ...
Want to ship better software? Get in the fast lane. This week, hosts Ben Lloyd Pearson and Andrew Ziegler open the episode with a discussion of some of the tech topics dominating the news cycle like Microsoft's restructuring to focus on AI, a potential TikTok ban in the U.S. and a status check on New Year's resolutions. Then, joined by Dan Lines, they shift their focus to the 2025 Engineering Benchmarks Report by LinearB. This in-depth conversation explores the crucial link between de...
Is your company relying on surveys alone to bridge the gap between developers and managers? In this episode of Dev Interrupted, host Ben Lloyd Pearson and Dan Lines, COO of LinearB, dive into the perceived misalignment between engineers and their leaders on improving developer experience. Together, they emphasize the importance of data-driven insights over relying solely on surveys, highlighting how quantifiable metrics can illuminate issues like technical debt and build times. ...
How do you build a culture that balances operational excellence with developer happiness? By shifting from firefighting to foresight. Kick off Season 5 of Dev Interrupted with hosts Ben Lloyd Pearson, Andrew Zigler, and Dan Lines as they share their New Year's resolutions and welcome Sowmya Subramanian, whose leadership journey spans Google, YouTube, and Oracle, to the show. From redefining metrics like DORA to adapting processes like Fix-It Weeks, Soumya discusses dismantling the “hero” mind...
It's the end of an era on Dev Interrupted as we say farewell to host Conor Bronsdon and welcome a fresh voice, Andrew Zigler! Join us for a nostalgic trip down memory lane as Conor revisits his favorite interviews and moments from Season 4 and beyond, including discussions on chaos engineering, technical debt, and the human side of managing software engineers. He shares memorable stories from guests like Charity Majors, Rob Zuber, Kelly Vaughn, and many more, while reflecting on the evolutio...
2025 will test every assumption about how engineering teams work. With the new year fast approaching Ori Keren, CEO of LinearB, has some bold predictions that might surprise you, like why developer productivity could actually go down in 2025. Yep, you read that right. As AI tools flood the market, we might see a dip in both productivity and creativity before the long-term benefits kick in. It’s a wake-up call for engineering leaders to rethink how they lead their teams. Ori dives into the...
What’s the secret to building better products? Letting engineers drive the vision. This week, host Ben Lloyd Pearson interviews Austin Spiegel, co-founder and CTO of Sift Stack, who previously spent years leading engineering teams at SpaceX. Austin reveals how SpaceX's unique engineering culture, which eliminated the product management layer, influenced his approach to building Sift Stack, including the implementation of a forward-deployed engineering team. Learn how this approach lea...
Most developers (ourselves included) want to run for the hills when they hear the words “engineering process.” But it turns out, the biggest danger to your team may not be having enough process. You don’t have to take our word for it. This week’s guest made a believer out of us and we’re willing to bet she’ll make a believer out of you too. Julianna Lamb, co-founder and CTO of Stytch, understands that engineering processes can be a sensitive subject for developers. But she argues that the ...
This week, Dev Interrupted dives into the 2024 Stack Overflow Developer Survey, revealing a surprising statistic: only 1 in 5 developers are happy in their jobs. Stack Overflow's Senior Analyst of Market Research and Insights, Erin Yepis, joins host Ben Lloyd Pearson to discuss the survey's findings and explore the reasons behind this widespread dissatisfaction. From salary woes and workplace settings to the ever-present burden of technical debt, they dissect the factors impacting deve...
There’s AI agents. There’s AI tooling. Do either drive business impact or are they just more things your dev team is supposed to stay on top of? Birgitta Boeckeler, Global Lead for AI Assisted Software Delivery at ThoughtWorks, joins the show to discuss the practical applications of AI in software delivery. She shares her research on AI agents, highlights areas where AI hasn't lived up to the hype, and offers concrete examples of useful AI tools for development teams. Dan Lines then joins t...
Open source has transformed software development, but can it do the same for AI? In this episode of Dev Interrupted, Conor Bronsdon talks with Scott McCarty, Senior Principal Product Manager at Red Hat, about the potential of open source AI to revolutionize enterprise DevOps. They discuss the challenges and opportunities of open source AI, including licensing, security, and the need for community-driven development. McCarty argues that open source AI is crucial for building trust and e...
Everyone knows the era of growth at all costs is over, but where does that leave us? And specifically, where does that leave founders? The answer is straightforward: founders have to start thinking like business people. This week, Conor Bronsdon interviews Ashish Aggarwal, founder and CTO of Productive and an active investor in over 30 companies. Ashish shares his insights on how startups are adapting to the new “efficient growth” environment, why this paradigm shift is an opportunity...
It’s time we recognize the idea of a ‘Golden Path’ is unrealistic. In this episode of Dev Interrupted, host Dan Lines is joined by Cory O'Daniel, CEO of MassDriver, to discuss Cory’s provocative article 'DevOps is Bullshit'. They cover the pitfalls of DevOps, the evolution of cloud operations and whether or not platform engineering is the solution the industry needs . Cory shares insights on why many organizations struggle with DevOps implementation, the impact of cloud technology on traditio...
This week, host Conor Bronsdon chats with Dheeraj Pandey, CEO and co-founder of DevRev. Dheeraj shares his incredible journey from leading Nutanix to a valuation of $16 billion, to now striving to build another unicorn with DevRev. Dheeraj opens up about the lessons learned from his entrepreneurial journey, emphasizing the significance of having a holistic approach to building products and companies. He explores how his experiences at Nutanix have shaped his vision at DevRev, especially in te...
This week, co-host Conor Bronsdon sits down with Daniela Miao, co-founder and CTO of Momento, to discuss her journey from DynamoDB at AWS to founding the real-time data infrastructure platform Momento. Daniela covers the importance of observability, the decision to rebuild Momento's stack with Rust, and how observability can speed up development cycles. They also explore strategies for aligning technical projects with business objectives, building team trust, and the critical role of c...
This week, our host Dan Lines chats with Malte Ubl, CTO of Vercel, about why iteration speed is a game-changer for teams trying to deliver more efficiently. Malte shares how accelerating the development cycle and embracing platform engineering can supercharge productivity, helping teams ship faster and innovate more effectively. We explore what it really means to streamline workflows, reduce bottlenecks, and create an environment where developers can focus on what they do best—building great ...
What are the limitations of general large language models, and when should you evaluate more specialized models for your team’s most important use case? This week, Conor Bronsdon sits down with Brandon Jung, Vice President of Ecosystem at Tabnine, to explore the difference between specialized models and LLMs. Brandon highlights how specialized models outperform LLMs when it comes to specific coding tasks, and how developers can leverage tailored solutions to improve developer productivity and...
Engineering teams are already seeing efficiency gains by leveraging Gen AI solutions like Copilot, but the next wave of AI workflows has the potential to 10X productivity. This week, we’re exploring the world of Agentic AI with Amir Behbehani, Chief AI Engineer and Founder of Memra. Agentic AI can be defined as AI agents or systems that have the capacity to make decisions or take actions on their own based on the objectives they are programmed to achieve. These AI systems act independently, g...
According to a LinkedIn study, engineers with strong soft skills are promoted 13% faster than those with only technical skills. Given how AI will continue to reshape market demands for developers and engineering leaders, how can you adapt to these changes and further your career? This week we’re joined by Aarathi Vidyasagar, VP of Engineering at LinkedIn, to explore the growing importance of soft skills and how leadership, communication, and empathy are becoming just as critical as technical ...
Gen AI for dev teams has been a focal point of conversation for the last few years, but the technology and application are both still very nascent. How can you find the best Gen AI use case for your team, and implement it safely? This week, our host Dan Lines sits down with Peter McKee, Vice President of Developer Relations and Community at Sonar. They explore the benefits and risks associated with Gen AI, and whether this new tooling is most impactful for junior or senior developers. Regardl...
In an organization as big as Shopify, how can you pioneer exceptional developer experience not only for your team but also for external developers using your product? This week we’re joined by Eytan Seidman, Director of Product at Shopify to unpack Shopify's approach to building elite engineering teams. Eytan highlights how Shopify’s high-context, high-autonomy culture empowers engineers and product managers to innovate and drive impact. By leveraging a mission-driven culture, Shopify ensures...
Both the aerospace and defense sectors are renowned for long project timelines rife with silos and hurdles that get in the way of productivity. With over 20 years of experience at Lockheed Martin and elsewhere, Robin Yeman literally wrote the book Industrial DevOps on how to implement DevOps principles at traditional behemoths to build faster, safer systems. As Space Domain Lead at Carnegie Mellon's Software Engineering Institute, Robin’s pioneering work reveals how applying DevOps principles...
Scaling new product lines within a growing company can be both an opportunity and quite challenging. Semgrep's Head of Engineering Adam Berman joined us this week to share his own experience developing Semgrep's second product line. Adam was instrumental in developing Semgrep's second product line, and he shares practical strategies for moving from a single-product to a multi-product organization. He unpacks the challenges of organizational design, the importance of fast iteration and feedbac...
Dan Lines is joined by Gil Broza, author of 'Deliver Better Results,' to discuss how you and your organization can achieve better results by focusing on processes. Gil shares his 20-year journey in the Agile field, focusing on product development, system thinking, prioritizing people, and mindful mindset adjustments. The conversation covers the book’s target audience, the concept of the value delivery systems, and the roadmap for holistic improvement beyond traditional Agile methodologies. Gi...
This week, guest host Ben Lloyd Pearson sits down with Bloomberg’s Engineering Manager Luis Vega. Luis discusses the initial challenges of enhancing developer engagement with internal tooling. He outlines his approach to building internal applications that are as intuitive and engaging as Bloomberg's client-facing solutions, and how applying UX design principles and branding for tools dramatically increased adoption. Vega also reflects on transitioning from a hands-on developer to a ma...
In our first Labs episode of the year, LinearB COO and Co-founder Dan Lines is joined by CTO Yishai Beeri to explore how elite engineering organizations set and report on their engineering goals. Modern engineering leaders face a dual mandate of achieving operational excellence while aligning their work with business priorities. To achieve this, you need to deliver software predictably—projects need to be delivered on time, within scope, and as promised so the rest of the business can d...
This week, I sat down with Neha Batra, VP of Engineering for Core Productivity at GitHub. Our conversation is about the value of taking calculated risks in engineering leadership, using a “risk budget," and how you can leverage your social capital to take risks that help your career. Neha also shares her insights on senior engineering leaders' challenges when aligning business needs with talent and product execution. She discusses her framework for strengthening company alignment and engineer...
In the last few years, disengagement at work has become a massive issue. We learned from Dr. Andre Martin’s episode that 53% of managers are burnt out and 1 in 3 employees leave their jobs in the first 90 days. This week, we sat down with Chuck Lafferty, VP of CRM at ADP, to discuss ADP’s approach to employee engagement and innovation. Chuck dives into building trust within teams, innovative techniques like ‘Survey Roulette’ to incorporate user feedback into development, and the critical role...
In the past year, ransomware attacks have been up almost 300%, with over 50% targeting small businesses. To help mitigate this increase, Microsoft is launching their new Security Copilot, and we sat down with their SMB Security Strategy Head, Binil Pillai, to learn more. We dive into the importance of SMBs assessing their security posture, how to leverage AI for efficient threat detection and response, and the role of Microsoft's partner ecosystem in providing comprehensive security solutions...
In this episode, host Conor Bronsdon talks with Melissa DePuydt, Sr. Director of Engineering at Upstatement. Melissa discusses how her background in journalism has uniquely positioned her to excel in engineering leadership roles. She highlights how thinking like a journalist has enhanced her ability to lead engineering teams effectively, particularly in planning, risk management, and decision-making. The conversation covers the importance of preparing for disruptions, conducting pre-mortems t...
On this week’s episode, host Conor Bronsdon sits down with Emily Nakashima, VP of Engineering at Honeycomb.io, to discuss how you can prepare to be a VP of Engineering, and how the role differs among companies. Being a VPE varies based on company size, culture, and the existing team's makeup, and Emily provides valuable advice for engineers aspiring to leadership positions. Emily also discusses using personality tests for better team dynamics and the need for regular self-evaluation as an in...
This week, host Conor Bronsdon welcomes back Kelly Vaughn, Director of Engineering at Spot AI, to talk about building influence as an engineering leader. Kelly shares insights on the importance of leadership skills for both individual contributor and managerial roles and outlines her three pillars of trust, communication, and empowerment. Conor and Kelly discuss strategies for staying technically fresh despite moving up in management, exploring the balance between staying close to product d...
On this week’s episode, host Conor Bronsdon is joined by Jason Krohn, Global Head of Delivery at Syngenta. Jason delves into how his teams at Syngenta leverage software engineering intelligence to achieve predictable delivery at scale. Jason also explores how aligning work with employees' passions contributes to success and retention at Syngenta. He discusses the challenges and solutions in implementing efficient DevOps processes and ensuring organizational buy-in for the vision. Additional...
This week, host Dan Lines welcomes back Zach Goldberg, CTO and author of the book 'The Startup CTO's Handbook: Essential Skills and Best Practices for High Performing Engineering Teams.’ Zach shares insights from his extensive career as a CTO and his journey in writing a book that condenses the wisdom of numerous other influential works into a single, comprehensive guide. We explore the three core sections of his book: Management Fundamentals: Interviewing, Hiring, Performance Management, Bud...
It doesn’t matter if you have an innovative technical strategy if you’re not solving problems the business cares about… This week, host Conor Bronsdon sits down with Rob Zuber, CTO at CircleCI. They delve into the evolving role of engineering leaders, and the importance of building a technical strategy that aligns with overarching business goals. Throughout the conversation, Rob emphasizes the importance of focusing on customer needs, gathering direct feedback and maintaining strategi...
On this week’s episode, our hosts Dan Lines and Conor Bronsdon are joined by long-time friend of the show, industry expert, and Director of Engineering at Spot AI, Kelly Vaughn. Together they tackle a range of topics, including how tax laws are impacting engineering teams, the evolving role of AI in software development, and the great build vs. buy debate. The conversation starts with Kelly and Dan’s takes on Section 174, which poses a looming threat to US tech companies. From there, they p...
On this week's episode, we're joined by Carol Barrett, the Engineering Leader in Consumer Identity and Access at Netflix. Host Conor Bronsdon interviews Carol to learn about Netflix’s blueprint for success when building engineering teams, and how they foster a culture where inspiration and purpose are at the forefront. Carol shares her valuable insights on empowering engineers to make their own decisions, ensuring product management and engineering are perfectly synced, and the importance of ...
In this week's episode of Dev Interrupted, co-host Conor Bronsdon is joined by David Yee, VP of Engineering at the New York Times. They dive into the often unseen aspects of organizational structures, discussing how every organization regardless of their defined values and principles, operates with a 'shadow'. David discusses the role of senior leaders in addressing systemic problems and navigating the tensions between innovation and consistency. He highlights the importance of recogniz...
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