Sandbox projects and hands-on learning

In this episode, Jack Cochran sits down with Darlene Volas, a senior solutions engineering executive, to explore what it truly means to be an AI-enabled SE in 2025 and beyond. The conversation moves well past basic ChatGPT usage to examine sophisticated operational workflows, custom automation tools, and practical implementation strategies that enhance both efficiency and quality of work.

This episode was recorded during Presales Collective's 2026 AI-Powered Presales Summit on March 19th, 2026. Pro and Pro+ members can view all of the recorded sessions on-demand in the PSC Knowledge Hub: https://www.presalescollective.com/knowledgehub

• Connect with Jack Cochran: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackcochran/

• Connect with Matthe James: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewyoungjames/

• Connect with Darlene Volas: https://www.linkedin.com/in/darlenevolas/

• Join Presales Collective Slack: https://www.presalescollective.com/slack

• Sol/Con 2026 (Chicago, August 2026): https://www.presalescollective.com/solcon-2026

• Presales Collective Podcast: https://www.presalescollective.com/podcast

• Perplexity: https://www.perplexity.ai/

• Claude by Anthropic: https://www.anthropic.com/claude

• Cursor AI coding tool: https://cursor.sh/

• GitHub Copilot: https://github.com/features/copilot

• Gong conversation intelligence: https://www.gong.io/

• ChatGPT Enterprise: https://openai.com/enterprise

• Obsidian note-taking: https://obsidian.md/

• Firebolt database: https://www.firebolt.io/

1. Personal AI Usage Evolution: Moving Beyond Google Replacement to Creative Applications

2. Three Buckets of AI for SE Leaders: Operations, Team Workflows, and Technical Implementation

3. Daily Meeting Preparation Automation and Custom-Built AI Applications

4. Operationalizing SE Teams with Repeatable AI Workflows

5. Quality vs. Efficiency Trade-off: Better Preparation Rather Than Less Time

6. Building Technical Credibility Through Hands-On AI Coding

7. The "One More Thing" Problem and Where Human Expertise Remains Essential

8. Data Security, Governance, and Vendor Considerations for AI Tools

9. Why AI Won't Replace SEs: The Irreplaceable Human Element

10. Hiring AI-Native SEs: What to Look For Beyond Basic Tool Awareness

00:00 Welcome

02:41 How AI conversations have evolved

06:30 Three buckets of AI usage

12:40 Efficiency versus quality improvements

18:40 Building credibility through AI coding

21:07 The one more thing problem

30:59 Why AI won't replace SEs

36:45 Q&A session

39:20 Closing remarks