Refactoring Podcast

Amelia Wattenberger, product lead at Augment Code and former principal research engineer at GitHub Next, discusses post-IDE workspaces and AI-driven developer tooling. She explains Intent’s model of isolated workspaces, agent personas and orchestration. Conversation covers specs as a control plane, opinionated interfaces beyond chat, notes for collaboration, and how AI reshapes engineering roles.

Richard Hughes-Jones, a seasoned executive coach for founders and senior tech leaders, talks leadership, uncertainty, and AI. He explains coaching without an engineering background. He explores leading beyond frameworks, holding polarities, and designing safe-to-fail experiments. He describes using AI to augment coaching with transcripts, pattern spotting, and reminders.

Austen McDonald, former senior engineering manager and hiring committee chair at Meta and author of Mastering Behavioral Interviews, shares why behavioral interviews matter now. He breaks down the decode-select-deliver loop, the eight signal areas interviewers seek, the big three prompts, building a story catalog, and ethical framing. Short, practical, and aimed at both candidates and recruiters.

Paige Bailey, Developer Relations Lead at Google DeepMind and ex-Principal PM at GitHub who helped launch Copilot, demos building a webcam app entirely with voice. She walks through removing backgrounds, running a live AI interview to auto-fill profiles, choosing models, deploying to Cloud Run, and when to move from Studio to IDEs. The conversation covers team workflows, agent-driven automation, and how roles are evolving with AI.

Gonçalo Silva, the CTO of Doist, leads a unique company with 100 remote employees across 40 countries, creating the beloved productivity tool Todoist. He shares insights on staying small and effective, contrasting bootstrapped constraints with the pressures of VC funding. The discussion dives into the origins of Doist's async-first culture, how they manage team dynamics, and balance strategy with user feedback. Gonçalo also explores the role of AI in enhancing productivity, emphasizing clarity and innovation within their teams.

Thiago Ghisi, a former engineering director at Nubank and Apple, shares his transformative sabbatical journey. He reveals how detaching from his work identity allowed him to embrace self-discovery and deeper questioning. Thiago discusses the creation of a 'second brain' using tools like Obsidian and Cloud Code to analyze 15+ years of notes for insights into his past. He highlights the importance of sustainable routines and the unique challenges of finding joy outside productivity. Finally, he considers pursuing a PhD in psychology, blending his tech skills with newfound passions.

In a dynamic conversation, Matt McClernan, CEO of Augment Code and an AI coding expert, dives into the state of AI adoption among engineering teams. He explores the gap between personal and team adoption, stressing the role of documentation as a powerful tool for enhancing AI outputs. Matt reveals how context engineering, particularly through RAG-based retrieval, can transform coding practices. He also discusses the future of AI in developer workflows, including the evolution of UX tools like IDEs and CLIs and the importance of governance in this rapidly changing landscape.

In this engaging discussion, Rob Zuber, CTO of CircleCI and a seasoned expert in software delivery, shares insights on building effective product engineering teams. He highlights the role of AI in revealing process inefficiencies and the necessity of aligning team goals with business outcomes. Rob emphasizes the importance of small, curious teams and discusses the balance between standardization and flexibility. He reflects on hiring choices and stresses the need for T-shaped engineers who adapt quickly. Expect thought-provoking perspectives on leadership and technology choices!

In this discussion with Hywel Carver, co-founder and CEO of Skiller Whale, they tackle the flaws in traditional developer training and how it often falls short of genuine learning. Hywel shares insights on the distinction between knowledge, skill, and wisdom, emphasizing the importance of context in mastering skills. They explore innovative coaching models, the role of AI in reshaping learning, and the necessity of measuring training effectiveness through business metrics rather than mere engagement stats. He also highlights the potential for AI to reduce cognitive load and enhance developer ownership.

Darragh Curran, CTO of Intercom and leader behind Fin, an AI agent revolutionizing customer service, dives into the dual nature of AI as both a risk and an opportunity. He shares insights on Intercom's bold pivot towards AI, launching Fin as a dedicated product. Darragh discusses ambitious goals to double productivity, using AI to streamline workflows, and the importance of team ownership over technical quality. He emphasizes disciplined iteration in AI systems and the strategic necessity of embracing AI to avoid obsolescence.