Dev Leader Podcast
Dev Leader Podcast features interviews with software engineers at various career stages and specialties. Guests share their personal paths, including the challenges and successes that shaped their professional growth. The show highlights the diversity of experiences within software engineering and offers inspiration for listeners navigating their own career development.
Episodes
Is Developer Relations Right for You? An Honest Breakdown With Fred Harper
In this episode, I sit down with Fred Harper, Developer Relations Manager at TinyMCE, for a deep dive into what developer relations actually is -- and what it is not. Fred shares his 20+ year journey from software developer to DevRel, how his extroverted personality shaped his path, and why introverts can be just as successful in this role.----You can get in touch with Fred:- Website: https://fred
Quitting the Plan: How One Developer Reinvented His Career from Scratch
In this episode of the Dev Leader Podcast, I sit down with Simon Stern to unpack a career journey that cuts across far more than just writing code. Simon started out in biochemistry on a path toward medicine, walked away from it entirely, taught himself to code, became a boot camp instructor, worked in big tech, and is now leaning hard into entrepreneurship.----You can get in touch with Simon:- We
Construction, Coding, and Work Life Balance - Jamon's Journey in Software Development
In this episode, I sat down with Jamon Holmgren, co-founder and CTO of Infinite Red, to talk about his unconventional journey from framing homes in the rain to building a thriving software consultancy. Thanks so much for the discussion, Jamon!----You can find Jamon at:- Website: https://jamon.dev/- Into the Dawn: https://store.steampowered.com/app/4055780/Into_the_Dawn/- Twitter: https://x.com/jam
Imposter Syndrome, Grit, and Growth: How Bhavya Rebuilt Confidence
In this episode, I get to catch up with Bhavya Kashyap, Engineering Manager at Chime, AND a former classmate of mine from the University of Waterloo. We hadn’t spoken in years, but this conversation was an AWESOME catch-up!Her story is a powerful reminder that failure isn’t final and that sometimes the best engineers are those who’ve had to fight the hardest to prove they belong.----You can find B
Theme Parks, Bakeries, and G-Code: Samantha’s Unexpected Path Into Software
In this episode, I talk with Samantha Lopez, whose path into software development is anything but typical -- and that’s exactly what makes it so inspiring.Whether you’re just starting out or pivoting mid-career, Samantha’s journey proves that your past experiences can be your biggest asset in tech -- you just have to connect the dots and keep going!----You can find Samantha at:- LinkedIn: https://
From Frying Chicken to This Dot Labs - Career Stories With Danny Thompson and Rob Ocel
In this episode, I sit down with Danny Thompson and Rob Oel from This Dot Labs -- two developers with wildly different paths into tech. If you’ve ever doubted your path or wondered whether you belong in tech, this one is for you!----This Dot Labs: https://www.thisdot.co/You can find Danny at:- Website: https://www.dthompsondev.com/- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dthompsondev/- YouTube: htt
From Dial-Up to Data Engineer: How Claire Beat Imposter Syndrome
Claire’s story is both honest and inspiring -- from growing up with dial-up internet and believing she wasn’t “smart enough” to code, to now teaching thousands of aspiring developers how to build real projects and overcome self-doubt.We dig into how helping others can become one of the best ways to learn, why adults often thrive through applied learning over theory, and how sustainability and comm
Firefighting to Flow: Forecasting For Developers - Interview with Tom Ridge
I was really grateful to have Tom Ridge join me for a deep, honest conversation about leadership, agile delivery, and what it really takes to help engineering teams succeed.Tom shared how his team turned things around after projects fell behind schedule -- using data, reducing scope, and applying Little’s Law to make forecasting less about guesses and more about measurable flow. We also dug into t
Leading Engineering Teams Without Burning Out - Interview with Ray Nicholus
Today's guest on the podcast is Ray Nicholus! We got candid about leading as introverts, when to say yes (and when to say no), and how to balance hands-on code with real people leadership. We dug into startup versus big-company impact, remote-first habits that actually work, and why impostor syndrome can be a signal for growth.If you’re navigating the IC-to-manager path (or debating it) this o
Context is King in Software Engineering - Derek Comartin of CodeOpinion
Derek Comartin of CodeOpinion is one of my favorite YouTubers and content creators. Derek is able to talk through all sorts of software engineering tradeoffs and is one of the best at answering the "it depends" question.That's because Derek knows that context is king. If we are making decisions in software engineering, it's all about the circumstances that we're operating in. Derek brings this fro
How To Build Teams That Actually Care - Interview With Ryan Varley
Building highly effective teams sometimes feels as complicated as rocket science -- but that's no problem for today's guest, Ryan Varley!Ryan Varley was en route to have a career in astrophysics, but software engineering got the best of him! In our chat, Ryan shares his career journey and how he looks to build development teams that are highly engaged.----You can find Ryan at:- LinkedIn: h
From Spanish Teacher to GREAT Software Engineer - Interview With David Weiss
Spanish teacher?! Yeah, my guest today is a career-switcher coming over to software engineering from being a Spanish teacher!David Weiss is an awesome guy to know with a great story about making a career switch into software development. I thoroughly enjoy his software engineering content online, and it was great to chat with him about how content creation helps him have a bigger impact in the dev
How to Structure to Data with AI: Interview With Kirk Marple of Graphlit
I sat down with Kirk Marple of Graphlit to talk about his career journey and the awesome AI platform that he's building.One of the things I thought was awesome was the fact that they "dogfood" their platform by building solutions on top of it -- one of the BEST ways to know the ins and outs is to use it yourself!Huge thanks to Kirk for sharing his insights and I'm very excited to
Why System Failures Make The Best Learning Opportunities! - Interview With Michael Kill
In this talk with Michael Kill, he shares his perspective on why the high-priority P0 scenarios are some of the best to learn from... despite being high pressure and high stress!Everyone has something to bring to the table, and everyone has something they can learn -- regardless of your title or your seniority.Thanks for this awesome discussion, Michael!----Get in touch with Michael:- Twitter: htt
Engineer to Manager and Back Again: Interview With Lee McKeeman
He's worked at Amazon, Meta, and Google... But that's not what I found most interesting about Lee McKeeman!While Lee has lots of awesome experiences (in AND outside of work), one of them that really got me interested was becoming an engineering manager and transitioning back to a software engineer. It's not that this is unheard of, but it's not a common one that I get to talk to ot
People-First Software Engineering - Interview With Hassan Habib
This is a very special episode for me because I really look up to and admire today's guest. Hassan Habib does an incredible job of combining technical insight with philosophy -- something that I don't see done so elegantly by many others.But one thing that REALLY sets Hassan apart is his focus on putting people first in software engineering. It's something that's so very obvious wh
This Guy Switched From Helicopters to Tech! - Interview With Mike Akins
Mike Akins made the move from flying helicopters in the military to tech -- an AWESOME career switcher story! He has attended Oregon State and walks us through the challenges of searching for jobs as a student, from internships to applying for those first jobs.We discuss imposter syndrome and working alongside a different generation of developers -- overall, a very enlightening discussion!Thanks v
How AI Changed Our Dev Jobs FOREVER - Interview With Brian Jenney
Brian has one of my favorite career-switcher stories, and I'm glad that he sat down with me again to share it. In our conversation, we get to see what it was like for him to go from a low place to crushing it as a software developer.But we're not done there, because Brian and I get into our AI tool usage. Is it safe to vibe code? Let's find out...Thanks for coming on the podcast, Brian!----You can
Data Replication Ain't Easy: Interview With Josh Hicks of Jumpmind
Josh Hicks of Jumpmind knows a thing or two about just how complicated data replication can get.On the surface, it's a simple problem. Data in one spot needs to get to another spot. Add a new location in? No problem.... But it gets complicated FAST, and that's a problem they solve at Jumpmind.Big thanks to Josh for sharing his career journey, featuring AWESOME networking opportunities that
Leadership Principles for Software Engineers: Interview With Adrian Stanek
If you think leadership topics only apply to managers and above, think again! In this video interview, I was joined by Adrian Stanek. We got chatting about leadership principles, and they're all applicable to different roles and levels.I really like how Adrian framed his four pillars. The concepts rang very true for me, and I think there's a lot of value here for software engineers.Thanks
Engineering Management, Burnout, and Finding Purpose: Interview With Michael Greenspan
My podcast guest went from engineer to manager to career coach -- and what a journey it's been!In this video interview, Michael Greenspan joins me to share his career journey and shed some light on what engineering management looks like to him. We bridged into topics of burnout as well as the importance of finding purpose in the work we do.Thanks so much for the perspective, Michael! Great chat!--
How To Level Up As A Tech Lead - Interview With Anemari Fiser
What does it take to be a Tech Lead in software engineering? I sat down with Anemari Fiser to discuss!We dug into:- What is a tech lead?- How to move into the role?- How do soft skills fit into the picture?Thanks so much for the perspective, Anemari!----You can find Anemari at:- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anemari-fiser/- O’Reilly book - Leveling Up as a Tech Lead: https://www.oreilly.co
The Reverse Podcast Interview - Interview With Alex Lau
He's BACK!I felt very fortunate to have Alex Lau, author of Keep Calm and Code On, back on the channel for an interview... But with a twist!We did a bit more of a grab-bag style where we jumped between some different topics AND I was on the receiving end of the interview for some of them!Thanks so much for your time, Alex! Always a great conversation.----You can find Alex at:- Website: https:/
Sales, Rejection, And Founding an AI Startup - Interview With Amer Tadayon
Sometimes our original plans don't work out -- but what a masterpiece when our different paths come together for something awesome!I was happy to sit down with Amer Tadayon and discuss his journey leading up to the creation of Lucihub.One of the most important parts of this story I found was that not every path we pick will be perfect -- and that's 100% okay. What matters is that we keep a
Psychology To Software Engineering - Interview With Sofia Sarhiri
One of my favorite things about interviewing developers is hearing their stories! And Sofia had a great story to share about her career switch into software development!I really enjoyed this conversation and the focus on just how valuable soft skills are. You'll hear about Sofia's experiences and how communication plays a big role!Thanks for taking the time to share your experiences, Sofia
From IT Call Center to Expert DotNet Software Engineer - Interview With Dan Patrascu
This is a special interview for me -- and I'm really excited to be able to share it with you.
I had the pleasure of sitting down with Dan Patrascu-Baba, also known as Codewrinkles, in this video chat.
Especially if you're a DotNet developer, you probably know Dan! He's got a ton of amazing content that he puts out regularly, and I'm always very appreciative of how he shares perspective.
When my
How To Refactor Your Brain - Interview With Dagna Bieda
Software engineers are no strangers to tech debt and the power of refactoring.
But what if you could refactor your brain?
I had the pleasure of sitting down with Dagna Bieda to go over just that! We discussed some awesome passages from her new book, Brain Refactor!
From burnout to imposter syndrome to all things software engineering, hear about how you can clean up some of the legacy code that
Crucial Coachability Lessons In Software Engineering - Interview With Noah Cantor
What's one sure-fire recipe for disaster when it comes to coaching?
Not being coachable.
This could come from a lack of self-awareness or not being willing to be coached -- but if you're not ready for it, it's going to feel like friction.
In my conversation with Noah Cantor, we walked through the various considerations that come into play when it comes to getting coaching and mentorship.
Noah'
From Astronaut Dreams To API Development - Interview With Sophia Willows
There are product teams, platform teams... But what about...
Developing APIs for other developers to use?
In this interview with Sophia Willows, we got to chat about how she's focused on that very thing!
It turns out that when you're building a system when you own the calling and serving side of an API you can get away with a few more luxuries. However, when your customers are developers who sp
Acting, Improv, And Software Engineering - Interview With Rita Iglesias
What do theater, improv, and acting have to do with software engineering?
I'll be honest: I thought not a whole heck of a lot.
But when I sat down to talk to Rita Iglesias, I couldn't help but realize how her curiosity, problem-solving, and previous experiences truly enabled her to kick butt at being a software engineer.
This conversation was AWESOME -- and Rita even stuck around while I experi
VP Expectations of Engineers - Interview With ex-Amazon VP Ethan Evans
What does it look like to go from managing engineers at startups to a rocketship ride to VP level at Amazon?
Let Ethan Evans tell you all about it!
Ethan has led global teams of over 800 engineers at Amazon and helped invent Prime Video, Amazon Video, Amazon Appstore, Merch by Amazon.
Let's hear what Ethan had to say about what VPs and senior leadership are looking for when it comes to leve
Unleashing Engineering Teams With Recognition Culture - Interview With Dan Silivestru
It's the people that make the workplace a fun place to go to.
These are words from Dan Silivestru in our interview that we did together -- and I couldn't agree more.
Software engineers are incredible at solving complex problems and innovating in difficult domains.
But at the end of the day, we're all still human. We all have things that motivate us. We can all get burnt out. We all
Internships, Learning Paths, & Getting Your First Job - Interview With Erik Andersen
Look, we know it's challenging. Many people are going through tough times with it.
Landing your first job as a software developer is no simple task.
I sat down to chat with Erik Andersen about his advice for helping folks navigate getting into the industry.
Erik had lots of actionable tips for aspiring and junior software developers, and I think you're going to love this one.
Thanks fo
Developing For Feature vs Platform Teams - Interview With Gaurav Rohatgi
Have you worked in feature teams developing products for end users?
What about working on a platform team where your customers are the ones building on top of your infrastructure?
In this interview, Gaurav Rohatgi discussed these topics in depth with me.
We went over his career journey with an EXCITING pivotal moment and then got right into what it's like to work on these different types of
Test Driven Development & Developer Advocacy - Interview With Gui Ferreira
You're not a real developer unless you do TDD.
Gui Ferreira is a TDD expert -- but no, not even he would tell you this.
In our chat together, we covered a lot of ground. It was great to sit down with a fellow Dometrain course author to go over:
- His career journey
- Developer advocacy
- Test-driven development
- And MUCH more!
Huge thanks to Gui for the talk, and I'd love to do more in
AI Will Replace Developers... Or Will It? - Interview With Amichai Mantinband
You know it's right when it fits like a glove.
At least that's the case for Amichai Mantinband when he stumbled upon computer science! He knew right away that he had found the right career path.
I had a great discussion with Amichai, and we even went into the weeds on AI taking all of our software engineering jobs!
... Well, not quite.
But you'll enjoy our discussion about the impa
Architecting Systems at Startups and Beyond - Interview With Raul Junco
You've surely seen his system design and software architecture content, right?
You know the man -- Raul Junco!
I really enjoyed our chat, and navigating how software architecture looks whether you're at big or small companies.
When you're trying to move fast, there's not as much time for these things -- so how do you balance it with your team?
Huge thanks to Raul for making the
Key Values and Dealing With Clients - Interview With Emily Jowers
It's all about delivering value to the customer. But do they even know what they want?!
I was fortunate to sit down and chat with Emily Jowers where we talked about her career journey up to staff software engineer.
We chatted through her core values that she aims to embody and promote in software engineering teams -- and life in general. We also got a glimpse of how to navigate user requirem
Work Life Balance, AI Tools, and Junior Devs - Interview With Andrew Peacock
Woodworking, building a side-SaaS, having a full-time job, helping educate others, and supporting a happy family... This is a full plate.
Not only full in terms of time allocation, but also a sense of fulfillment.
How could your heart not also be full from focusing on the things you're passionate about?
In this video interview, I sat down with Andrew Peacock who shared his (un)fortunate jou
Be The Luck For Other Software Engineers - Interview With Scott Hanselman
Arguably the coolest thing I've been able to do in my content creation journey for software engineers to date:
I got to sit down and chat with Scott Hanselman.
I bet that the overwhelming majority of my audience knows Scott. It's almost impossible to be in this area of tech and not know him! If you've seen a 3d printer online you definitely know Scott.
Scott is the VP of Developer C
License To Code With The People Whisperer - Interview With Taha Hussain
I laughed FAR more than I have in any interview so far. But I also managed to pocket more lessons along the way.
In this interview with Bond, James B... wait. Wait no. That's the infamous Taha Hussain!
Taha was an absolute pleasure to talk with for this interview. Truly, I spent so much time laughing and being engaged by his amazing story-telling.
But it's not just some fictional tale -
Remote Work And Being A Better Dev - Interview With Eric Roby
There's one thing for sure that I know about Eric Roby.
This guy knows how to do remote work.
He also:
- Understands how to navigate customer interactions
- Knows the benefits of soft skills for developers
- Has success with digital courses
- Is an awesome content creator
- Has my next haircut
Eric was an absolute pleasure to talk to in this interview, and I'm sure you'll learn a lo
Keep Your Mind HUNGRY - Interview With Alex Zajac
Fuel that brain with interesting topics to stay on top of! And that's exactly what Alex Zajac does with his approach for Hungry Minds!
I had the pleasure to sit down with Alex and hear his story about how he found an interest for coding. He was able to take that interest and transform it into starting his career at Amazon with some of his close friends.
Not only that!
Alex is a successful c
The Secret To Deploy on Fridays - Interview With Vasilii Oleinic
You fear Friday Deployments. We live for them.
We are not the same.
I had the pleasure of sitting down to talk with Vasilii Oleinic about his career journey, his focus on software architecture, and how he approaches testing.
He had many interesting perspectives that I really enjoyed hearing about, including how to frame up a proof-of-concept vs software systems that need to be robust. Of course
Unlock Your Engineering Confidence - Interview With Maria Glazunova
I've said it a million times and I'll say it a million more: Communication is a critical skill for software engineers. And if you don't want to listen to me, listen to Maria Glazunova who I had the pleasure of interviewing in this video!
Maria coaches many software engineers and tech professionals on how to improve their communication skills. Many of these people have English as their
Should You Join A Coding Bootcamp? - Interview With Brooke Sweedar
My journey through software engineering was pretty traditional: go to college/university directly after high school to study... then go into the workforce. But it's important that we keep an open mind about the different paths that aspiring software engineers can take to get into the industry.
In this video, I was joined by Brooke Sweedar who shared with me her journey through coding Bootcamp
Software Engineering, Big Tech, and Agile - Interview With Jade Wilson
I was joined by Jade Wilson in this video interview! Jade is not only a senior software engineer at Microsoft, but a successful content creator. When we got to talking, it was really cool to hear that we have very different experiences with how our teams approach building software:
- My teams go through a pseudo-agile / waterfall hybrid (i.e. we try to be agile but commitments are done on larger h
Imposter Syndrome and YOU - Interview With Julia Hohenadel
Imposter syndrome is something that affects many people -- especially software engineers! But imposter syndrome is not just limited to aspiring programmers or junior software engineers... In fact, the more success you have, often the more imposter syndrome that you encounter.
In this video, I was joined by a previous intern of mine (Woohoo Magnet Forensics!), Julia Hohenadel, who knows allllll ab
Senior to Principal Engineer in Big Tech - Interview With Bhavana Hindupur
In this interview, Bhavana Hindupur enlightened me with some different perspectives about the challenges going through tech. She explained how cultural background and expectations from society can create additional barriers when navigating how to progress in the workplace.
One of the great points that Bhavana brought up was about her turning point in her career going from senior to principal leve
It's An 🛸Alien Invasion🛸 In Blazor! - Interview With Mohamad Dbouk
Don't worry though -- the aliens won't hurt you. I confirmed this with Mohamad Dbouk when we sat down to discuss his journey in software engineering and he surprised me with an awesome little demo of a Blazor game!
Not only was this the very first show-and-tell code we got to see from a guest on the channel, but Mohamad had other very insightful things to share.
One of my biggest takeawa
Data-Driven Approach to Software Engineering - Interview With John Vandivier
Yeah, you read it right on the thumbnail. A freakin' PhD! I was fortunate to sit down with John Vandivier of Ladderly.io to talk about his approach to helping guide software engineers to employment.
This conversation was awesome because you're going to hear some cool perspectives from John (many of which I strongly align with) but... He can back them up with data. That's what makes th
Software Engineers Need... BRANDING?! - Interview With Anna Miller
I bet you never thought as a software engineer you were going to hear that branding was important, right?! After all, isn't that what the marketing team is for? Isn't that kind of a "salesy" thing?
And you're exactly right -- as a software engineer, your brand and the branding that you create can be immensely valuable for the relationships you form inside AND outside of work
Success From Software Engineering Failures - Interview With Alex Lau
In this video, I got to sit down with Alex Lau to discuss his book, his almost-accidental success in public speaking, and how he continues to grow from his failures in software engineering.
On failures, most people shy away from them. We keep them secret. Failing is bad. Except... failing is one of the very best ways that we can learn and improve -- and Alex has set out to help others know that t
Becoming The Interview Champion - Interview With Dynamic Singh
I had the pleasure of sitting down with Bhupinder Singh, popularly known as Dynamic Singh, to discuss his journey in turning his interview problems... into one of his greatest strengths!
In our conversation, we discussed that it's not just about copying some steps and hoping you land the job -- truly, you need to become the person that you're aspiring to be.
And guess what that means?
Y
Prioritize This CRITICAL Skill as a Developer - Interview With Callie Buruchara
This is the first EVER software engineering interview done on Dev Leader, and I was excited to be able to have my first awesome guest:
Callie Buruchara!
Callie knows that communication is a critical skill to have in software engineering, and she's experienced first-hand how big of a difference it can have even in a highly technical field. In fact, most people greatly over-prioritize their te
Up-Level Your Software Engineering Mindset! - Interview With Richard Donovan
In this video, I was joined by Richard Donovan who shared his interesting career journey and transition to focusing on mindset! One of the key takeaways that I had from this discussion was that it takes a level of self-awareness and reflection to realize that shifting your mindset can drive positive change.
Rich shares some of his ups and downs in his career, the different changes he pursued, and
Fuel Your Software Engineering With Purpose - Interview With William Ray
I had the pleasure to sit down with William Ray and hear about his career journey so far.
It's not what you'd expect.
And that's what makes it so great to hear about -- because there are so many different avenues to getting into software engineering.
Will shares with us his struggles before finding success in healthcare and how that was something that eventually wasn't aligned w
Build Software To Get Good As Software - Interview With John Crickett
You need to code to get better at coding -- That's something you'll hear me say all of the time. But my guest today, John Crickett, has taken this to a WHOLE new level! John is the author of the extremely popular newsletter called Coding Challenges. He's created this to give software developers the focus that many of them need to go practice building things.
This was an AWESOME interv
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