AI-First Engineering Podcast

Epizodes

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  What Happens to QA When AI Joins the Team? 19.08.2026 29min

  What happens to QA when AI joins the team?In Episode 4 of AI-First Engineering, Paresh Bhutada, Global Partner Manager from TestGrid sits down with Maneesh Agarwal, Director QA at Forsys, to explore how AI is reshaping Quality Engineering, QA roles, and the way modern teams work.Maneesh is a quality engineering leader with extensive experience across manual testing, automation, and AI-driven testing. In this conversation, he shares his perspective on how QA professionals can adapt, where AI can take over repetitive work, and why human judgment, customer experience, and business context will remain critical.The conversation explores:Why traditional QA teams may not be here to stayWhat AI should automate firstWhy human judgment and customer experience still matterHow QA professionals can stay relevantWhat an AI-native Quality Engineering team could look likeWhether 3 AI-enabled engineers could outperform 10 traditional QA engineers🎙️ What Happens to QA When AI Joins the Team?Host: Paresh Bhutada, Global Partner Manager, TestGridGuest: Maneesh Agarwal, Director QA, ForsysWatch the full conversation and join the discussion on the future of Quality Engineering.#AIFirstEngineering #QualityEngineering #AITesting #AIEngineering #EngineeringLeadership #TestGrid
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  Will AI Make Great Engineers Even Better? 05.08.2026 27min

  AI is no longer just helping engineers write code. It's reviewing pull requests, generating tests, documenting systems, and increasingly acting as a collaborative engineering teammate. But as AI takes on more of the software development lifecycle, one question becomes more important than ever:What will distinguish great engineers in an AI-first world?In Episode 3 of AI-First Engineering, Jon Robinson, Head of Market Development at TestGrid, sits down with Suneet Malhotra, Senior IEEE Member and independent practitioner-researcher, to explore how AI is reshaping engineering roles, quality engineering, and software development itself. Together, they discuss why the future belongs to builders, how AI is changing the role of QA, the rise of AI agents and Model Context Protocol (MCP), and why human judgment remains critical in an increasingly autonomous engineering landscape. In this episode:• How AI is making experienced engineers dramatically more productive• Why the future role of QA is evolving into that of a "builder"• How AI agents and MCP are transforming software development workflows• Why human expertise is still essential for validating AI-generated work• The challenges of measuring AI quality and building confidence in AI systems• Whether the QA engineer role will still exist five years from now Guest: Suneet Malhotra is a Senior IEEE Member and independent practitioner-researcher in LLM-augmented software testing, with over 20 years of experience leading quality engineering for consumer-scale platforms including Motorola, Tinder, Amazon, Ticketmaster, the Oprah Winfrey Network, and Spokeo.Host: Jon Robinson, Head of Market Development, TestGrid.AI-First Engineering is a podcast by TestGrid featuring conversations with engineering and technology leaders shaping the future of AI-driven software delivery, quality engineering, and enterprise innovation.Linkssuneetmalhotra.comgithub.com/SuneetMalhotralinkedin.com/in/suneet-m
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  How Do You Test AI That Talks Back? 08.07.2026 21min

  How do you test AI that doesn't always behave the same way?As AI-powered applications become more conversational and customer-facing, traditional software testing approaches are no longer enough. Engineering teams must now validate systems that generate non-deterministic responses, learn from interactions, and directly influence customer experiences.In the first episode of AI-First Engineering, Deepanwita Kar, Sr. Director, Partnerships & Alliances at TestGrid, speaks with Chandrashekhar Patil, VP QA at redBus (MakeMyTrip), about the future of AI testing and quality engineering.Together, they explore:Why testing AI systems is fundamentally different from testing traditional softwareThe challenges of validating conversational AI and customer-facing AI applicationsHow engineering teams can build confidence in AI-driven systemsThe role of trust, user experience, and human behavior in AI validationPractical advice for introducing AI validation into existing testing strategiesWhat quality engineering could look like over the next five years Whether you're an engineering leader, QA professional, AI practitioner, or technology executive, this episode offers valuable insights into building trustworthy AI-powered software.Connect with TestGrid🌐 Website: https://testgrid.io💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/testgridio
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  The Human Side of AI-Driven Engineering 22.07.2026 27min

  Everyone is talking about AI. But successful AI transformation is about more than technology. It's about people.In this episode of AI-First Engineering, host Jon Robinson is joined by Peter Thompson to explore the human side of AI-driven engineering.As AI becomes embedded across the software development lifecycle, engineering leaders face new challenges that go beyond tools and automation. How do you build trust in AI? How do leaders adapt? And what role will human judgment, culture, and collaboration play in the future of engineering?Together, they discuss:Why people are often the biggest challenge in AI transformationHow engineering leadership must evolve in an AI-first worldThe importance of culture and trust in AI adoptionWhat successful AI-driven engineering organizations will look likeWhether the future belongs to human skills, technical skills, or bothIf you're an engineering leader, QA professional, software developer, or anyone navigating AI transformation, this episode offers valuable insights into building AI-first organizations where people and technology work together.Guest: Peter ThompsonHost: Jon RobinsonAI-First Engineering is a podcast by TestGrid featuring conversations with engineering and technology leaders shaping the future of AI-driven software delivery.