Beyond Coding

Episódios

• Addy Osmani: Top Tier Software Engineers vs. AI Agents. The Mindset You Need 28.05.2026 17min

  As AI agents transform software engineering, how do you leverage them without losing your coding skills or risking production disasters? In this episode, Google Cloud AI Director Addy Osmani breaks down the shift from babysitting basic models to mastering advanced agent harnesses.Discover how to safely delegate complex technical tasks while maintaining your human engineering identity and setting up secure boundaries for your AI.In this episode, we cover:Human Identity vs. Machine Identity: How to avoid the trap of "cognitive surrender" and keep your critical thinking sharp.Stopping the AI "Babysitting" Cycle: How to transition from constant manual oversight to secure agent governance.Rising Abstractions: Why agent harnesses (like Claude Code and Antigravity) are changing how software is built.The Verification Bottleneck: Why coding is easy, but verifying that your agent didn't ruin production is the real challenge.This episode is a must-watch for software engineers and tech leaders looking to integrate AI agents into their workflows safely and effectively. You’ll walk away with actionable frameworks to boost your development velocity without letting your own technical edge rot.Guest:Addy Osmani is a Director at Google Cloud AI, famous for his work on Google Chrome and focused on AI agents in software engineering.Timestamps:00:00:00 - Intro 00:00:45 - The Reality of "Babysitting" Your AI Agent Setup 00:01:16 - How to Stop Babysitting and Build Secure AI Agents 00:02:36 - The Dangerous Mistakes of Uncontrolled AI Experiments 00:03:39 - Rising Abstractions: From Code to Agent Harnesses 00:05:18 - Why You Should Delegate Technical Tasks to AI 00:07:05 - How to Choose the Best AI Agent Harness 00:08:31 - How to Manage Your Developer Innovation Budget 00:10:17 - Are We Losing Pair Programming to AI Agents? 00:12:14 - Cognitive Surrender: The Hidden Threat of Generated Code 00:13:40 - The Verification Bottleneck: How to Trust AI Code 00:15:59 - How to Safely Scale Your Personal AI Bandwidth#AIAgents #SoftwareEngineering #DeveloperProductivity
• What World Class Software Engineers Do That You Don't 20.05.2026 32min

  After 250 episodes of Beyond Coding, a pattern shows up again and again: the engineers who thrive aren't the ones chasing the newest tool or the cleanest code. They're the ones who learn fast, keep things simple, and understand the business they're building for. This special pulls the sharpest moments from recent guests into one conversation about what actually makes a great software engineer in 2026.We cover:Why learning is the only skill that outlives every tool, language, and platformHow the best architects act more like scouts than cartographersWhy "simple is complicated enough" beats clean code dogma at scaleHow to design systems that evolve instead of trying to predict 10 years outWhat junior engineers should actually do in the age of AI agentsFor software engineers who want to think clearer, build better, and grow into the kind of engineer companies can't replace.Timestamps:00:00:00 - Intro00:00:17 - Why You Should Increase Your Breadth, Not Just Focus00:02:16 - The Only Skill That Survives Every Tech Cycle00:04:14 - Buzzwords Are Just Old Ideas in New Clothes00:05:26 - What Clients Say vs What They Actually Want00:06:45 - The Bad Architects Are Easier to Spot00:08:50 - Why Good Engineers Use Boring Technology00:11:40 - Stop Building for 100x Scale on Day One00:13:13 - The Dogma of Clean Code Is Hurting You00:15:15 - Simple Is Complicated Enough at Scale00:16:28 - Design Only for the Next Order of Magnitude00:18:19 - How to Talk Tech with Non-Technical Stakeholders00:19:30 - The $50,000-Per-Hour Container Terminal Lesson00:22:11 - Architects Are No Longer Cartographers, They're Scouts00:25:18 - Start with a Question, Not an Answer00:26:49 - Junior to Senior in the Age of AI Agents00:27:29 - Don't Be a Fool with a Tool00:29:43 - From Explicit to Implicit Knowledge Economy00:30:38 - Use AI to Validate, Not to Generate#softwareengineering #engineeringcareer #softwarearchitecture
• What Separates Cracked Software Engineers From Everyone Else 06.05.2026 38min

  Reddit Reacts is back. I'm taking the most controversial takes on software engineering from Reddit and giving you my unfiltered perspective on what's happening, from juniors leveraging AI tools, to the culling of engineers who refuse to adapt, to whether you should take a gap year after a layoff.In this episode, we cover:How to become technically "cracked" and what really separates great engineersWhy juniors learning with AI have an edge over 20-year veteransThe future of writing code by hand (and why fulfillment is shifting)Vibe coding, security holes, and what happens after 6 monthsThe brutal reality of layoffs, gap years, and AI-driven hiringIf you're an engineer trying to figure out where this industry is going and how to stay competitive, this one is for you.Mentioned in the episode:⁠ADP List⁠ - free mentorship from senior engineersTimestamps:00:00:00 - Intro00:00:54 - How to Become Technically Cracked in 202600:05:35 - Will Juniors Who Only Code with AI Get Stuck?00:09:26 - Will Senior Engineers Stop Writing Code By Hand?00:11:11 - I Vibe Coded for 6 Months and It's a Disaster00:15:04 - Why Leaders Demand Screen Sharing on Incident Calls00:17:34 - "I Don't Do Anything and Still Get Promoted"00:20:33 - Have the Best Engineers Stopped Applying?00:25:39 - The Future of Software Engineering in the AI Era00:32:15 - Are Most Programmers Actually Bad?00:34:58 - Should You Take a Gap Year After a Layoff?#softwareengineering #aicoding #techcareers
• Microsoft Trainer: Software Engineers Need These AI Engineering Fundamentals To Survive 29.04.2026 47min

  Most engineers are using AI coding tools without understanding what they actually are and it's costing them. Microsoft Certified Trainer Rob Bos has trained thousands of engineers on AI tooling, and he sees the same gaps in fundamentals show up again and again, regardless of seniority. This is what you need to know:What an LLM actually is (and why understanding this changes how you use it)Why prompt engineering isn't optionalHow AI magnifies your existing technical debt instead of fixing itThe 6-month learning curve nobody warns you aboutWhy your role as an engineer was never about writing codeThe environmental cost behind every promptWhether you're skeptical of AI tools or already living in agent mode, these are the fundamentals that separate engineers who get real value from those who get burned by the hype.Connect with Rob:https://www.linkedin.com/in/bosrobReferences:Token tracker: https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=RobBos.copilot-token-trackerDev survey: https://www.activestate.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/ActiveState-Developer-Survey-2019-Open-Source-Runtime-Pains.pdfTimestamps:00:00:00 - Intro00:00:43 - The #1 Thing Engineers Get Wrong About AI00:02:09 - How Much LLM Theory Do You Actually Need?00:03:58 - Why Pair Programming Is Still the Best Way to Learn AI00:05:26 - Why Rob Skips Tab Completion and Lives in Agent Mode00:07:03 - The "AI Doesn't Increase Productivity" Debate00:08:29 - Why Your Real Job Was Never Writing Code00:09:14 - The 2-Hours-of-Coding Problem No One Talks About00:11:02 - More Code = More Pressure on Your Review Process00:12:21 - Why AI Magnifies Existing Technical Debt00:13:39 - The Customer Who Couldn't Start AI With Developers Yet00:15:11 - The Future Engineer: Reviewer, Not Writer00:17:00 - Convincing the AI Skeptic Who Tried It Years Ago00:19:17 - LLMs Explained Without Visuals (Attention & Semantics)00:22:41 - Why Prompt Engineering Actually Matters00:24:20 - From Zero to Hero: The 6-Month Learning Curve00:26:18 - Is This Confrontational for 20-Year Veterans?00:29:30 - Becoming a Better Engineer by Thinking in Systems00:31:26 - Will AI Stop Working as Innovation Slows?00:34:26 - The Lost Art of Pair Programming with AI00:35:44 - Tribalism in AI Tools (And Why It's Pointless)00:37:33 - Tool Agnostic: Start With the Foundations00:39:40 - Is the IDE Still Relevant?00:40:50 - The Bluescreen Story That Changed His Mind00:41:47 - The Hidden Environmental Cost of AI Coding00:44:15 - 36 Million Tokens in 30 Days: What Does It Mean?00:45:47 - Running LLMs at the Edge to Cut the Footprint00:46:48 - Why You Should Be Allowed to Wait Five Minutes Longer00:47:05 - Outro#githubcopilot #aicoding #softwareengineering
• Open Source Expert: World Class Engineers Don't Apply For Jobs. Here's Why 22.04.2026 37min

  Most engineers approach open source the wrong way. They write code, open a PR, and wonder why it never gets merged. Bruno Schaatsbergen, Terraform core contributor and ex-HashiCorp engineer, breaks down the real craft behind contributions that actually land, and why AI is quietly breaking the ecosystem we all depend on.In this episode, we cover:Why pull requests get ignored (and the counterintuitive fix)How AI slop is killing open source from the insideUsing AI agents without losing your identity as an engineerWhy open source beats a tailored resume in today's marketHow consistent contributions can reshape your entire careerIf you've ever wanted to contribute to open source but didn't know where to start, this episode gives you a clear perspective from someone who's been on both sides.Connect with Bruno:https://www.linkedin.com/in/bschaatsbergenOUTILNE00:00:00 - Intro00:01:04 - How Open Source Shaped My Entire Career00:02:14 - Why I Take Pride in Every PR I Write00:03:16 - Open Source vs Personal Projects: The Real Difference00:04:18 - Why Your PRs Get Ignored (And How to Fix It)00:05:41 - Know Your Audience: The Counterintuitive PR Hack00:06:35 - Dealing With Imposter Syndrome as a Contributor00:07:10 - Read Code Like a Writer Reads Books00:09:31 - My First Contribution (And How It Changed My Career)00:10:51 - Should You Contribute to Open Source Early in Your Career?00:12:46 - The Dark Side: When Contributions Become Noise00:13:44 - Killed With Kindness: The AI Slop Problem00:16:17 - How Maintainers Are Fighting AI Slop00:18:02 - How I Actually Use AI Agents in My Workflow00:19:11 - Don't Outsource Your Thinking to AI00:20:11 - Who's Liable for AI-Generated Code?00:21:16 - Earned Rights: Why Trust Matters in Open Source00:22:52 - How to Approach People at Tech Conferences00:24:52 - Open Source Is Not a Democracy00:26:04 - Why Open Source Beats a Tailored Resume00:27:12 - Never Contribute With the Goal of Getting Hired00:28:38 - The Real Reason Consistency Pays Off00:29:30 - Admitting I'm a University Dropout00:30:42 - Why I Haven't Contributed in Weeks (And That's Okay)00:32:07 - The Trap of Chasing Contributor Rankings00:34:32 - Open Source Lets You Work With Anyone in the World00:35:52 - Final Advice: Don't Let AI Steal Your Identity
• Software Expert: This Is How You Design Systems That Survive 15.04.2026 53min

  What separates software that survives from software nobody wants to touch? Nico Krijnen has spent 30 years building systems, coaching teams, and learning why some projects thrive while others quietly become the legacy code everyone avoids. In this episode, he shares why the real work starts after you ship, what actually turns a system into legacy, and why the knowledge in your team's heads matters more than the code itself.In this episode, we cover:Why production is where the real learning beginsThe team composition that consistently delivers resultsPeter Naur's Theory Building and why documentation alone falls shortHow knowledge leaving your team turns working systems into legacyWhy assuming you're wrong leads to better architectureWhether you're a senior engineer rethinking how you build or earlier in your career trying to understand what really matters, this episode will change how you think about software that lasts.Connect with Nico: https://realworldarchitect.devTIMESTAMPS00:00:00 - Intro00:01:17 - Why He Keeps Choosing Engineering Over Management00:04:01 - Three Seniors Solved in Three Weeks What Management Couldn't00:05:14 - The Signals You Miss When You're Not in the Team00:06:26 - The #1 Skill Behind Every Successful Project00:08:04 - Why Production Is the Starting Line, Not the Finish00:10:13 - The Habit Most Teams Skip After Deploying00:11:28 - Why the Best Teams Mix Designers and Engineers00:14:36 - Finding the Right People for the Job at Hand00:17:01 - What Juniors Bring That Seniors Can't00:20:57 - How to Handle Ideas You Disagree With as a Senior00:24:21 - A Simple Technique to Surface Everyone's Best Ideas00:27:09 - What Makes a System Survive Long-Term00:30:53 - What Actually Makes a System "Legacy"00:35:01 - The Knowledge That Keeps Software Alive00:36:06 - Peter Naur's Theory Building: Why Documentation Isn't Enough00:40:06 - How Knowledge Loss Is Killing Your Codebase00:42:42 - The Hidden Risk of AI Tools for Team Knowledge00:48:14 - Why You Should Assume Everything You Build Is Wrong00:51:31 - Make Hard Things Easy to Change#SoftwareEngineering #SystemDesign #TechPodcast
• Top Microsoft Advisor: "Coding Is Cheap, Software Is Expensive." You're Focused on the Wrong Thing 08.04.2026 46min

  Suzanne Daniels is a Top Microsoft Advisor who works with CTOs and engineering leaders across EMEA on developer productivity, GitHub, and AI adoption. Her take: the industry is obsessing over coding speed, but that was only ever level one. The real shift is in who defines the solution, not who writes the code.In this episode, we cover:Why the "55x faster coding" marketing misses the point entirelyThe counterintuitive research showing junior engineers adopt AI faster than seniors"Coding is cheap, software is expensive" and what that means for your careerHow the boundary between product and engineering is disappearingWhy most AI coding tools are 80% the same and what to focus on insteadWhether you're early in career and struggling to land a role, or a senior engineer rethinking where your value lies, Suzanne breaks down what actually matters when the coding part becomes cheap.Timestamps:00:00:00 - Intro00:01:15 - Is AI Productivity the Whole Story?00:03:26 - Why Outcomes Matter More Than Code Output00:04:13 - The Real Value Was Never in the Coding00:06:06 - The Product-Engineering Boundary Is Disappearing00:07:37 - Why Junior Engineers Are Actually in High Demand00:09:41 - Research Says Juniors Adopt AI Faster Than Seniors00:11:31 - The Rise of Comb-Shaped Engineers00:12:32 - The Energy Juniors Bring That Teams Need00:14:06 - How Seniors Codify Knowledge for Agents and Humans00:16:35 - Advice for Early Career Engineers Right Now00:19:04 - Old Principles Getting a New Polish00:21:13 - Coding Is Cheap, Software Is Expensive00:22:52 - Will Agentic Development Change Your Programming Language?00:24:53 - What Even Is an Application in the Agent Era?00:28:34 - The Authenticity Paradox of AI-Written Content00:30:12 - Why Your AI Output Needs a Human Value Add00:32:12 - Is Open Source at Risk Because of AI?00:35:09 - When Your Favorite Tool Doesn't Follow You to the Next Job00:36:45 - Most AI Coding Tools Are 80% the Same00:38:15 - What Engineering Leaders Should Enable Beyond Licensing00:42:58 - Should You Leave If Your Company Won't Let You Experiment?00:45:16 - Platform Engineering as the Foundation for AI AdoptionGuest: Suzanne Danielshttps://www.linkedin.com/in/suzannedaniels#SoftwareEngineering #AICoding #BeyondCoding
• AI Expert: Most Software Engineers Aren't Ready for What's Coming 01.04.2026 47min

  The role of the software engineer is shifting from execution to orchestration, and it's happening faster than most of us realize. Dennis Vink, Principal Consultant at Xebia, breaks down how he approaches code modernization with AI, why fundamentals and system design matter more now than ever, and what the engineering role is actually becoming.In this episode, we cover:Why you need to mature your old codebase before you can migrate away from itHow to prove feature parity between legacy and modern systemsWhy vibe coding without architecture knowledge gives you zero controlThe shift from execution-focused engineering to orchestrationWhy Dennis worries about the next generation of engineersWhether you're sitting on legacy code at work or wondering how your role as an engineer is evolving, this conversation will make you think about where you need to invest your time next.Timestamps:00:00:00 - Intro00:00:51 - Dennis's Early AI Engineering Assignments00:02:23 - Side Projects: Reviving a 20-Year-Old Game in Rust00:04:36 - Why Vibe Coding Without Fundamentals Fails00:05:15 - The Fundamentals You Need for Code Migration00:06:45 - Proving Feature Parity with Automated Testing00:08:12 - Writing Tests First as Risk Mitigation00:10:13 - How Much Should You Care About Code Structure?00:11:18 - Migrating in Small Pieces of Value00:12:26 - Will Engineers Still Find Fulfillment in Building?00:14:01 - How to Actually Start Side Projects (ADHD Brain)00:15:34 - Why Pivoting Is No Longer Painful00:16:12 - Prompting as the New Bottleneck00:17:23 - Parallelizing Work Across Projects00:19:08 - Why System Design Is the #1 Audience Demand00:20:19 - AI as a Differentiator for Strong Architects00:21:11 - Why the New Generation Should Worry00:23:01 - Are Bootcamps Still Worth It?00:25:15 - The Shift from Collaboration to Business Understanding00:27:56 - Infrastructure as a Core Competency Bet00:30:15 - Deterministic vs Non-Deterministic Code Generation00:32:16 - Can This Approach Scale to Million-Line Codebases?00:34:20 - Why a Finger-Snap Migration Would Scare You00:37:01 - Where to Start with Your Own Legacy Codebase00:38:43 - Which Languages Do AI Models Struggle With?00:40:24 - Building Around Hallucination with Scaffolding00:42:30 - Spec-Driven Development as the Future Way of Working00:43:30 - Turning a Non-Technical Colleague into a "Developer" in an Hour00:46:21 - When the House Is on Fire, That's When You Need Real EngineersProjects we discussed:Agent designer - hurozo.com Game project - Zorlore.com (https://github.com/zorlore/)Vibe coded solar system simulation - spacehaste.com #SoftwareEngineering #SystemDesign #AIEngineering
• Ian Miell: If You've Been At The Same Company 3+ Years, You're Already In A Box 25.03.2026 1h

  Most senior engineers don't realize they're stuck until it's too late. The longer you stay, the more people around you have already decided who you are and what you're for. Ian Miell, CTO at Container Solutions, breaks down why this happens and how understanding the system around you is the first step to growing beyond it.In this episode, we cover:Why staying too long gets you put in a box (and how to escape it)How your software architecture is shaped by money flowsThe 30% rule: why you should feel uncomfortable at work and what it means if you don'tHow to pitch to senior leadership and actually get buy-inWhy AI makes distribution the real challenge, not buildingIf you're a senior engineer trying to grow beyond your current ceiling, this one is worth your time.Timestamps:00:00:00 - Intro00:00:42 - How to Pitch to Senior Leadership and Get Buy-In00:03:26 - Why You Should Feel Uncomfortable 30% of the Time00:06:33 - How to Break Through a Seniority Ceiling00:08:24 - The Burden of Context: Why Being the Go-To Person Traps You00:10:16 - How Ian Became CTO Without Trying To00:13:40 - Why a CTO's Job Is Mostly Coaching Now00:18:20 - Understanding Incentives: The Key to Navigating Any Org00:23:08 - Startups vs. Large Companies: Completely Different Rules00:25:00 - Why AI Makes Distribution the Real Problem, Not Building00:28:16 - The Hidden Maintenance Risk of Vibe-Coded Software00:30:13 - Security and Compliance: More Nuanced Than Engineers Think00:36:54 - Where "Architecture Follows the Money" Came From00:42:36 - The Wrong Number of Customers: A Systems Thinking Story00:47:23 - Why Engineers Think Individually Instead of Systemically00:51:53 - How to Start Thinking in Systems00:57:50 - How to Create Cross-Pollination in Consulting Teams00:59:39 - What CTOs Actually Look for When Hiring01:00:34 - Outro#softwareengineering #systemsthinking #careergrowth
• Hands-On Coding Architect: Don't Let Complexity Kill Your Codebase 18.03.2026 52min

  Most architects stop coding... and that's exactly where they lose their edge. Dennis Doomen has been a hands-on coding architect for 30 years, and his take is blunt: if you're not in the code, you can't make good architectural decisions. Period.In this episode, we get into the real causes of codebase rot, why dogmatic pattern-following destroys teams, how Dennis uses AI tools to build open source projects without compromising his standards, and why documentation and decision records might be the most underrated investment a software team can make.This one is for software engineers and architects who want to stay sharp, stay relevant, and build systems that actually last.00:00:00 - Intro00:01:05 - Why Dennis Refuses to Stop Coding (After 30 Years)00:02:54 - The Only Way to Be an Effective Software Architect00:04:43 - What Happens When Teams Copy Patterns Without Understanding Them00:06:23 - Software Engineering Is About Battling Complexity00:08:20 - When to Break Consistency to Reduce Complexity00:09:24 - The Problem with Overzealous SOLID Principles00:11:06 - The Future Where We Don't Care About Code Anymore00:12:07 - How Dennis Built an Open Source Library with GitHub Copilot00:14:18 - Accepting AI-Generated Code That Doesn't Meet Your Standards00:16:39 - How to Use AI Without Losing Code Quality00:17:41 - The Execution Is Accelerating — What Actually Matters Now00:20:19 - Why Tests Are Your Safety Net in an AI-First World00:23:44 - Lessons Learned from Letting AI Run Unsupervised00:26:46 - Should Teams Standardize Which AI Tool They Use?00:27:32 - Junior Devs and AI: Learning Skills vs. Speed00:29:21 - How to Stay Curious and Critical in an AI-Assisted Team00:33:43 - How to Build a Software Engineer from Scratch Today00:34:38 - Dennis's Emoji-Based Pull Request Review System00:36:45 - What AI Still Can't Do: Holistic Architectural Thinking00:38:38 - Why Your Git History Is More Valuable Than You Think00:40:44 - Decision Records: The Architecture Investment That Pays Off00:43:16 - When Documentation Saved Dennis from a Bad Management Decision00:44:47 - The Tailwind Layoffs and the Open Source Business Model Crisis00:46:27 - Guidelines for Consuming Open Source Responsibly00:49:51 - Why You Should Open Source Your Own ProjectsGuest: Dennis Doomen - Microsoft MVP, open source creator (FluentAssertions and more), and coding architect at Aviva Solutions.#softwaredevelopment #softwarearchitecture #softwareengineering
• Uber Engineering Manager: Why Clarity Beats Seniority 11.03.2026 44min

  Sendil Nellaiyapen, Engineering Manager at Uber, has built systems that scale to millions of users. In this episode he shares what most engineers get wrong about both system design and the move into engineering managementIn this episode, we cover:Ingredients for designing systems that scale to millions of usersHow to know when to compromise on architectureThe trade-offs of going from IC to engineering manager and why the role is harder than it looksHow to handle opinionated engineers, set team guardrails, and build high-performing engineering cultureWhether you're a senior engineer weighing the move into management, or already leading teams and looking to sharpen your system design thinking, this one's for you.OUTLINE:00:00:00 - Intro00:01:05 - The Ingredients for Building Systems at Scale00:02:23 - When to Compromise on Your Foundation00:03:42 - Scaling from 2,000 to 5 Million Users00:06:37 - Why Clarity Beats Seniority Every Time00:08:27 - The Danger of Muscle Memory in Engineering00:10:25 - MVP Mindset: What You Can and Can't Compromise00:13:22 - How High-Performing Teams Handle Growing Complexity00:15:04 - Who Owns the Assumptions? Shared Team Responsibility00:17:04 - Building Open Frameworks Instead of Closed Rules00:19:53 - Latency Is Overrated (Here's Why)00:22:52 - Recipes for Disaster: The Biggest System Design Pitfalls00:24:17 - The Scala Horror Story: When Elegance Kills Velocity00:26:52 - How to Handle Opinionated Engineers on Your Team00:29:03 - Setting Guardrails: The Manager's Design Responsibility00:32:01 - The Hardest Trade-Off Going from IC to Engineering Manager00:34:35 - Should Great Engineers Stay IC or Go into Management?00:37:11 - BFS vs DFS Engineers: Which Type Makes a Better Manager?00:39:05 - The Real Cost of Becoming a Manager (And Why It's Worth It)00:41:52 - Outro#systemdesign #engineeringmanager #softwareengineering
• Lead Software Engineer: Why You Can Write the Code in a Day but Ship in a Month 04.03.2026 39min

  Are you over-engineering for a future that might never come? In this episode, we explore why "future-proofing" often leads to wasted time and sunk costs, and how shifting your mindset from opinions to hypotheses can drastically improve your Developer Experience (DevEx).In this episode, we cover:The trap of complex architecture decisions like Hexagonal Architecture too earlyHow to identify and remove friction points in the software development lifecycleThe reality of using AI agents in production and who is actually responsible for the codeIf you are a software engineer or tech lead tired of the "Sacred Cloud Committee" and slow processes, this deep dive into DevEx is for you.Connect with Bas de Groot:https://www.linkedin.com/in/bas-de-groot-635013100Timestamps: 00:00:00 - Intro 00:01:00 - The Danger of "Future-Proofing" Your Architecture 00:03:18 - Why You Should Use Hypotheses Over Opinions 00:05:32 - "Shift Left Until There's Only Sh*t Left" 00:08:19 - At What Size Do You Need a DevEx Team? 00:11:02 - How to Measure Developer Friction Effectively 00:15:43 - Using Data to Fix Slow CI/CD Pipelines 00:17:26 - Why Surveys Beat DORA Metrics for Context 00:19:52 - The "Sacred Cloud Committee" Blocking Deployments 00:24:51 - How to Get Buy-In for DevEx Initiatives 00:28:56 - The Role of Hands-On Coding in DevEx 00:31:47 - Will AI Agents Fix Bad Processes? 00:34:44 - You Are Still Responsible for AI-Generated Code#developerexperience #softwarearchitecture #techlead
• How Senior Software Engineers Balance Speed and Quality (Scale-Up Lessons) 25.02.2026 47min

  The difference between a junior and a senior engineer isn't coding speed, it's knowing when to say "no.""The best code you can write is the code you don't write." In this episode, I sit down with Alessandro Mautone (Senior Software Engineer at Aquablu, ex-WeTransfer) to discuss the reality of engineering at a scale-up: how do you maintain technical excellence when the business demands speed?We break down why delivering features "fast" pays your salary, but how to negotiate deadlines so you don't drown in technical debt later. If you want to move from writing code to owning product decisions, this conversation is for you.In this episode, we cover:- How to push back on features and negotiate deadlines without upsetting stakeholders- Why chasing "perfect code" can hurt a company in growth mode- The Generalist vs. Specialist career path: Which one is right for you?- The potential pitfalls of using AI for unit tests without proper oversightTimestamps:00:00:00 - Intro00:01:06 - Balancing Technical Excellence With Delivery Speed00:04:11 - Why Delivering Features Pays Your Salary00:06:51 - The Importance of Ownership and "Skin in the Game"00:08:59 - Leaving WeTransfer: When Company Direction Shifts00:11:49 - The Generalist vs. Specialist Career Path Debate00:16:46 - How to Attract Top Engineering Talent to Your Team00:18:50 - Is LeetCode the Right Way to Hire for Scale-Ups?00:23:16 - Learning to "Say No" is a Sign of Seniority00:25:17 - Negotiating Scope Without Burning Bridges00:26:02 - When AI Generates Bad Unit Tests00:28:14 - Never Compromise on Tests, Even in "Code Red"00:33:59 - Communicating Technical Concepts to Non-Tech Stakeholders00:35:35 - The Never-Ending Battle Against Complexity00:37:26 - When to Build for the Future vs. Ship Now00:42:30 - A Real-World Example of Refactoring for Simplicity00:46:48 - The Skill That Will Be Make or Break for Engineers#SoftwareEngineering #ScaleUp #TechnicalDebt
• How to Think About Software Engineering (CTO's Perspective) 18.02.2026 46min

  We are at a unique point in history where there is finally an alternative to human coding. If AI can write the code effectively, what is left for the software engineer?In this episode, Joris Conijn (AWS CTO at Xebia) argues that the era of "just coding" is over. We discuss why senior developers are safe (for now), why juniors are at risk of never learning the fundamentals, and how "Shadow AI" is forcing companies to change their security strategies.Most importantly, we break down the difference between a "Programmer" and a "Software Engineer" with the introduction of agentic tools. If you want to future-proof your career and move from writing lines of code to designing systems, this conversation is for you.In this episode, we cover:Why banning AI at work actually increases your security riskHow to use AI to automate the boring parts of the SDLC (requirements & user stories)The critical difference between "Coding" and "System Architecture"Why you should check your AI Agents into your Git repositoryThe 20-year problem: what happens when engineers never learn the fundamentals?Connect with Joris Conijn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/jorisconijnTIMESTAMPS00:00:00 - Intro 00:01:11 - What Keeps a CTO Excited About Tech? 00:02:58 - Stop Being the "Department of No" in Security 00:05:28 - The Real Risk of Banning AI at Work 00:06:32 - When Developers Hold the Organization Hostage 00:08:14 - The Hidden Dangers of Instant AI Code Fixes 00:09:50 - Will Future Devs Understand Object Oriented Programming? 00:11:36 - Using AI to Accelerate Learning vs Copy-Pasting 00:13:17 - Why Testing Matters More When AI Writes Code 00:16:42 - Automating the Boring Parts of the SDLC 00:19:06 - How to Turn Meeting Transcripts into User Stories 00:21:36 - The Critical Skill of Making Implicit Knowledge Explicit 00:23:10 - Why You Should Stop Obsessing Over Story Points 00:27:46 - The "A-Team" Approach to High-Trust Development 00:29:54 - Running Parallel Workflows with AI Agents 00:33:34 - Pro Tip: Check Your AI Agents into Git 00:35:52 - Balancing Autonomy and Governance in Large Teams 00:39:19 - There Is Finally an Alternative to Human Coders 00:41:07 - Programmer vs Software Engineer: What is the Difference? 00:44:45 - How to Teach Software Engineering in the AI Era#SoftwareEngineering #SystemDesign #AIAgents
• How to Build the Best Platforms for Software Engineers 11.02.2026 43min

  Is your internal developer platform actually improving velocity, or is it a bottleneck? We discuss why platform teams building "cool" abstractions is a red flag, and you should aim to create the best platform for software engineers.In this episode, we cover:Why "Golden Paths" can turn into roadblocks for developers.The danger of Shadow IT and why it’s a symptom of a failed platform.How to measure if your platform is saving time.Connect with Adnan Alshar:https://www.linkedin.com/in/adnanmalshar92Connect with Jelmer de Jong:https://www.linkedin.com/in/jelmerdejong-xebia00:00:00 - Intro 00:00:54 - Is DevOps Dead? The Truth About Platform Engineering 00:03:07 - Why Developers Are Drowning in Complexity Today 00:04:37 - Why Having No Platform Is Better Than a Bad Platform 00:07:20 - Treating Software Engineers as Customers of the Platform 00:11:26 - The Exact Moment You Should Start Building a Platform 00:14:18 - Who Should Be on Your First Platform Team? 00:17:33 - Turning Your Angriest Developers Into Platform Evangelists 00:18:57 - Key Metrics: How to Measure Platform Engineering Success 00:21:01 - Why 60% of Companies Don't Measure Platform Success00:23:35 - Why No Metrics Is the Biggest Red Flag00:25:23 - The Disconnect Between Executives and AI Readiness 00:31:34 - Integrating AI Tools and Large Language Models Securely 00:34:22 - Shadow IT: The Symptom of a Broken Platform 00:38:03 - How to Scale Without Becoming a Bottleneck 00:41:45 - Don’t Forget the Business Side of Platform Engineering#PlatformEngineering #DevOps #DeveloperProductivity
• Career Advice I'd Give Every Software Engineer Right Now 04.02.2026 1h 1min

  Engineering hasn't become easier, writing code has just become faster. Time to stop fighting symptoms and start thinking in systems. In this Q&A, I break down the career advice I'd give to any engineer, from mastering architecture to knowing when to quit a high-paying job.In this episode, we cover:How "Systems Thinking" can be applied in practiceThe "Golden Handcuffs": Why high salaries keep engineers in toxic jobsHow to transition into leadership without waiting for a titleTimestamps00:00:00 - Intro 00:00:58 - How to innovate in stubborn legacy companies 00:04:49 - The "Golden Handcuffs": Money vs. Mental Health 00:07:27 - Stop solving symptoms: Systems Thinking explained 00:13:10 - Transitioning from Senior Engineer to Solutions Architect 00:15:08 - Communicating technical risks to non-technical bosses 00:17:48 - Proving leadership before you have the title 00:22:25 - My strategy for dealing with Imposter Syndrome 00:26:12 - Creating a "Zettelkasten" to retain technical knowledge 00:29:12 - The mindset that makes me stress-proof at work 00:33:10 - Learning to code with a product/design background 00:38:40 - Working with international remote teams 00:40:35 - Career Pivot: Software Engineering to Cyber Security 00:43:20 - Solopreneur opportunities in the "Education Gold Rush" 00:51:50 - Future Predictions: Vibe Coding vs. Vibe Engineering#SoftwareEngineering #CareerAdvice #SystemsThinking
• The Skills That Matter When AI Writes Your Code 28.01.2026 41min

  The software engineering landscape is shifting rapidly. Coding is becoming "cheap" because of tools like Claude Code, Codex, Gemini, Cursor etc. Interviews are evolving to focus on system design over syntax. In this Q&A, I break down exactly which skills matter now, how to negotiate the salary you deserve, and how to deal with difficult personalities on your team.In this episode:How juniors can leverage AI tools to reach senior-level outputReal-world salary negotiation tactics from my experienceWhy coding skills matter less in modern interviews (and what matters more)Handling "brilliant jerks" and toxic team cultureWhether you are looking for your first job with no experience or you are a mid-level dev trying to break into a Staff Engineer role, this session is packed with actionable career advice.Timestamps: 00:00:00 - Intro 00:01:06 - Handling Brilliant Jerks: Toxic Culture vs. High Performance 00:04:13 - How Juniors Can Use AI to Outperform Seniors 00:07:10 - The Future of Coding Interviews: System Design and AI 00:11:20 - The Real Difference Between Good and Great Developers 00:13:00 - One Mistake Mid-Level Developers Make That Stalls Growth 00:15:58 - Salary Negotiation Tactics: How I Got Two Raises in One Year 00:23:44 - Questions You Should Ask to Crush Your Tech Interview 00:27:42 - What Actually Moves the Needle: Side Projects vs. Experience 00:31:05 - Don't Wait for a Perfect Portfolio to Start Applying 00:32:25 - Finding Jobs: Why LinkedIn and Meetups Beat Job Boards 00:35:16 - Should Frontend Developers Worry About Learning Backend Skills? 00:37:39 - Do Tech Certifications Actually Help You Get Hired? 00:39:07 - Mastering Soft Skills: Training Budgets vs. Real Experience#softwareengineering #careeradvice #techinterviews
• Google & AWS Veteran: How To Become a Top Tier Software Architect 21.01.2026 1h 4min

  "Architects shouldn't try to be the smartest people in the room, they should make everybody else smarter."In this episode, Gregor Hohpe (ex-Google & AWS, author of "The Software Architect Elevator") breaks down exactly how to transition from software engineer to architect. He shares the mental models used at Big Tech to handle complexity, visualize systems, and navigate office politics without losing your technical edge.We cover:- Why "lowering risk" is the architect's real value proposition- The "Phantom Sketch Artist" technique to visualize unclear requirements- How to gain "political capital" to push back on bad decisions- Why simple architectures are often the hardest to buildIf you want to move beyond just writing code and start designing systems that scale, this conversation is for you.Connect with Gregor:https://www.linkedin.com/in/ghohpe00:00:00 - Intro 00:01:15 - How to Spot Bad Architects vs. Great Amplifiers 00:03:44 - Why Architects Are Actually Risk Managers in Disguise 00:06:13 - The Truth About Complexity and Simplicity at Scale 00:09:55 - How to Resolve Technical Disagreements Without Arguments 00:13:57 - Why You Should Use Pen and Paper for Architecture 00:17:24 - Mastering the Left-Right Brain Ping Pong Technique 00:20:42 - The "Architect Elevator": Connecting Code to Strategy 00:23:06 - The Rubber Duck Test: Are You a Good Architect? 00:25:41 - The "Phantom Sketch Artist" Method for System Design 00:30:37 - Stop Being a Cartographer, Start Being a Scout 00:34:47 - How to Keep Your Technical Skills Sharp as an Architect 00:44:37 - Navigating Office Politics using the "Court Jester" Strategy 00:48:08 - How to Earn and Spend Political Capital Wisely 00:53:17 - Why the "Big Ball of Mud" Might Be a Good Architecture 00:57:08 - How Executives Spot Gaps in Your Technical Logic 01:00:00 - Why Using AI for Architecture is a Dangerous Trap#SoftwareArchitecture #SystemDesign #SeniorDeveloper
• Own Your Engineering Career (No One Else Will) 14.01.2026 43min

  Are you waiting for a promotion that never comes? In this episode, we break down why relying on your manager to define your growth is a career-limiting mistake and how you can take full ownership of your professional path.In this episode, we cover: Why hard skills get you hired but won't get you aheadHow to create growth opportunities when your company has no clear pathUsing RACI to own decisions and increase your visibilityConnect with Zanina:https://www.linkedin.com/in/zaninakatiraReferences: RACI - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Responsibility_assignment_matrixTimestamps:00:00:00 - Intro 00:00:51 - Why hard skills get you hired but soft skills make you thrive 00:04:17 - How to connect your code to actual business results 00:06:44 - The art of storytelling for technical professionals 00:09:16 - Balancing execution speed with team collaboration 00:11:57 - The problem with forcing engineers into management roles 00:15:13 - Surviving when technology outgrows your current skillset 00:17:59 - Using the RACI method to clarify ownership and decisions 00:21:23 - What to do when your manager has no answers for your growth 00:24:40 - Why you should value scope of work over job titles 00:28:39 - How to pitch and negotiate impactful projects to leadership 00:33:00 - Expanding your perspective by networking outside your team 00:35:35 - Visualizing your ambition and defining what success looks like 00:39:16 - Overcoming the fear of asking for constructive feedback#careergrowth #softwareengineering #softskills
• The AI Skills Software Engineers Need to Learn Now 07.01.2026 44min

  Software engineers often think adding AI is just a simple API call, but moving from a Proof of Concept to a stable production system requires a completely different mindset. Maria Vechtomova breaks down the harsh reality of MLOps, why rigorous evaluation is non-negotiable, and why autonomous agents are riskier than you think.In this episode, we cover:The essential MLOps principles every software engineer must learnHow to bridge the gap between a demo and a production-grade solutionStrategies for evaluating agents and detecting model driftThe security risks of customer service agents and prompt injectionPractical tips for using AI tools to boost your own productivityConnect with Maria:https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-vechtomovaTimestamps: 00:00:00 - Intro 00:01:25 - Why the AI Hype Was Actually Good for Monitoring 00:03:07 - Real-World AI Use Cases That Deliver Actual Value 00:05:16 - MLOps Basics Every Software Engineer Needs to Know 00:08:08 - The Hidden Complexity of Deploying Agents to Production 00:12:02 - Minimum Requirements for Moving from PoC to Production 00:15:41 - Step-by-Step Guide to Evaluating AI Features Before Launch 00:18:08 - How to Handle Data Labeling and Drift Detection 00:21:55 - Why You Likely Need Custom Tools for Monitoring 00:24:56 - Why Engineers Build AI Features They Don't Need00:26:01 - How Software Engineers Can Learn Data Science Principles 00:31:36 - The Dangerous Security Risks of Autonomous Customer Service Agents 00:34:44 - Why Human-in-the-Loop is Essential for Avoiding Reputational Damage 00:36:18 - Boosting Developer Productivity with Opinionated AI Prompts 00:39:20 - Using Voice Notes and AI to Organize Your Life#MLOps #SoftwareEngineering #ArtificialIntelligence