The Peterman Pod Instagram Principal Eng (IC8) On Building IG Stories, 1 Promo Per Half, Small Teams
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Feb 2, 2026 Ryan Olson, a principal iOS engineer who led Instagram Stories and later co-founded Retro, shares career-defining projects. He talks about building Stories with tiny teams, the Whiteout redesign, promotion paths at Instagram, IG Labs experiments, and choosing startup tradeoffs for product focus.
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Failing The Facebook Interview
- Ryan Olson failed a Facebook interview early in his career and wrote a poor triple-nested loop under pressure.
- The experience knocked his confidence but he later proved the interviewer wrong with a successful career at Facebook and Instagram.
Interning With Future Founders
- Ryan interned at Flipboard among future founders like Dylan Field and Devin Finzer and learned iOS deeply from talented engineers.
- The high-talent environment accelerated his product and platform learning and inspired entrepreneurial thinking.
Use Tools To Calm Interview Nerves
- Use tools to manage interview nerves; Ryan used prescribed beta blockers to block adrenaline for interviews.
- If anxiety sabotages coding interviews, consider medical or behavioral strategies to stay calm and perform.
