Beyond Coding

Are you just executing tickets, or are you driving business impact?In this episode, Praveen Murugesan (VP of Engineering at Samsara) breaks down why the best engineers don't just write code and why "coding skills" alone won't get you there.He explains the critical shift from "software engineer" to "product engineer," why you shouldn't wait for permission to solve problems, and how to de-risk high-stakes projects like a true owner.In this episode, we cover:The difference between a "Ticket Taker" and a Product Engineer Why Product Managers should NOT be doing project management How to grow to Staff Engineer without managing a large team The exact interview questions to ask to test a company’s culture A real story of an engineer telling a VP: "That's not an important problem"Connect with Praveen Murugesan:https://www.linkedin.com/in/praveenmurugesanTimestamps: 00:00:00 - Intro 00:01:55 - Product Engineer vs. Software Engineer: What’s the Difference? 00:06:20 - Why Product Managers Should Not Do Project Management 00:11:06 - The Danger of "Flying Blind" Without Business Context 00:15:24 - Why Curiosity Is the Ultimate Leverage in the AI Era 00:25:06 - Why the Best Ideas Must Win Regardless of Hierarchy 00:27:43 - The #1 Interview Question to Test for Engineering Ownership 00:32:12 - How to Test a Company’s Culture Before You Join 00:36:04 - Why You Don't Need to Be Senior to Be a Product Engineer 00:40:46 - Managing High-Stakes Projects and De-risking Failure 00:43:56 - What I Learned From Breaking Production at Salesforce 00:48:29 - The Myth About Staff Engineering and Managing Teams 00:51:59 - The Engineer Who Told the VP: "That's Not an Important Problem"#SoftwareEngineering #StaffEngineer #CareerGrowth

Traditional software engineering job listings have dropped by 70%, yet Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) roles have exploded by over 800% this year. We sit down with Mo Fagir, Principal Technical Consultant at ServiceNow, to break down exactly why this shift is happening and how you can pivot your career to ride this AI adoption wave.In this episode, we cover:The massive market shift: Why "pure coding" jobs are declining while FDEs are booming.The exact technical stack and soft skills required to land these high-paying roles.How to overcome imposter syndrome and build a portfolio that gets you hired, even as a junior.Why this isn't just a trend, but the future of how engineering delivers value.Connect with Mo Fagir:https://www.linkedin.com/in/mo-nour-tarigTimestamps:00:00:00 - Intro00:01:14 - Why software jobs dropped 70% while FDEs grew over 800%00:02:55 - Why companies can't implement AI without Forward Deployed Engineers00:05:36 - Is this career path safe for traditional software engineers?00:07:54 - The exact technical stack you need to master today00:10:48 - Moving from engineering scope to product centric thinking00:16:15 - Can juniors and early career devs get hired as FDEs?00:19:12 - How to build a portfolio that gets you hired00:22:17 - Why passion and attitude beat experience in the AI era00:24:33 - How to train yourself to have a sense of urgency00:29:05 - Can introverts succeed in client facing engineering roles?00:32:17 - Lessons learned from interning at NASA and researching AI00:35:09 - Are we in an AI bubble that will burst soon?00:40:34 - Does becoming an FDE risk vendor lock-in for your career?00:43:36 - Final advice for engineers entering the 2025 job market#ForwardDeployedEngineer #FDE #SoftwareCareers

If you think your value as a software engineer comes just from writing code, you're already at risk.In this episode, Outsystems CEO Woodson Martin reveals why AI isn't the real threat to your career. Irrelevance is. He explains that writing code is now only 20% of the job, and the engineers who thrive are the ones who master the other "80% that matters."We cover:The billions of lines of ungoverned code AI is creatingWhy the "Forward Deployed Engineer" model is changing team structuresThe 80% of engineering work that AI cannot replaceHow to shift from coder to problem solver who drives business revenueA CEO's advice for building a lasting engineering careerThis is a reality check for developers, tech leads, and architects who want to stay relevant as agentic AI reshapes the industry.Connect with Woodson:https://www.linkedin.com/in/woodsonmartinTimestamps:00:00:00 - Intro00:00:56 - How Agentic AI keeps the human in the loop00:01:55 - Real-world example: Automating the grunt work00:04:17 - How engineers are using agents internally00:05:52 - Blending Low-Code and High-Code for complex systems00:08:28 - Is a Low-Code career a trap for engineers?00:10:50 - Will AI make software engineering obsolete?00:12:09 - The 80/20 Rule: Why code is only 20% of your job00:13:14 - Layoffs vs. the rise of the solo entrepreneur00:15:18 - Career advice for a volatile tech market00:17:02 - How to retain top talent and keep them happy00:20:10 - Why we radically changed our engineering team structure00:24:33 - The "Forward Deployed Engineer" model explained00:27:08 - Outsystems vs. OpenAI: The future of platform building00:31:45 - The tech debt problem no one's talking about00:34:23 - The one thing that keeps you from becoming irrelevant#SoftwareEngineering #CareerAdvice #AIAgents

What if you could build a multi-million dollar software company where only 10% of your employees are developers? AFAS, a company with hundreds of millions in revenue, does exactly that with a lean team of just 70 engineers. In this episode, Engineering Manager Michiel Overeem pulls back the curtain on their unconventional strategies for achieving massive productivity with a surprisingly small team.In this episode, we cover:Why standardization is their secret weapon for efficiency.How they thrive without traditional Scrum ceremonies.The two distinct types of engineers they hire for success.The surprising details of their 4-day work week (paid for 5).This video is for engineering leaders and software developers who want to learn proven, counter-intuitive strategies to build hyper-effective teams and get more done, regardless of team size.Connect with Michiel:https://www.linkedin.com/in/movereemTimestamps:00:00:00 - Intro00:01:22 - The "10% Engineering" Paradox at a €100M+ Company00:03:20 - How Standardization Allows a Small Team to Do More00:04:27 - The Two Types of Engineers Every Successful Company Needs00:06:46 - Why Feeling Responsible is More Powerful Than Being Responsible00:09:33 - The Secret Sauce of High-Performing Engineering Teams00:11:52 - A Simple Method to Keep Engineers Connected to Customers00:14:22 - What We Look For When Hiring New Engineers00:17:09 - The #1 Red Flag That Will Get You Rejected in an Interview00:19:33 - Why We Don't Use Scrum (And What We Do Instead)00:22:51 - The Power of Strong, Decisive Leadership00:24:13 - How Our 4-Day Work Week Actually Works00:26:55 - Our Approach to Adopting AI Tools like Copilot00:28:19 - Final Advice: The Best Way to Grow Your Career#EngineeringCulture #Productivity #SoftwareDevelopment

System design interviews often focus on theoretical complexity, but how do Senior Engineers at GitHub actually approach scaling? In this episode, Bassem Dghaidi breaks down how to think about system design when real business impact is on the line.We discuss why "simple is complicated enough," the dangers of premature scaling, and why vertical scaling often beats complex distributed systems. If you want to bridge the gap between theory and practice, and understand how to design software that actually serves the business, this conversation is for you.In this episode, we cover:- The "Order of Magnitude" rule for scaling systems- Why GitHub often runs millions of requests on simple architecture- How to communicate technical constraints to non-technical stakeholders- Why 90% of Bassem's code is now written by AI agentsConnect with Bassem Dghaidi:https://www.linkedin.com/in/bassemdghaidyTimestamps:00:00:00 - Intro00:00:48 - Theory vs. Practice in System Design00:02:06 - The Startup That Almost Failed via Kubernetes00:03:33 - How GitHub Scales (It's Simpler Than You Think)00:05:20 - The Underrated Power of Vertical Scaling00:08:23 - Why Big Tech Interviews for Scale You Don't Need Yet00:10:39 - Software Evolves, It Isn't Just "Built"00:11:53 - Only Design for the Next Order of Magnitude00:15:39 - Stop Building Generic Frameworks00:18:17 - "Hacking" the System Design Interview00:21:29 - Translating Tech Problems to Business Risks00:27:37 - Layoffs & Engineering Efficiency00:29:41 - Proving Your Impact with Numbers00:31:00 - Professional Engineering vs. Hobby Coding00:32:19 - "Simple is Complicated Enough"00:35:03 - The Rise of AI Coding (The Motorcycle Analogy)00:37:30 - "90% of My Code is Written by AI Agents"00:41:04 - How to Become a Great Engineer#SystemDesign #SoftwareEngineering #GitHub