241
I ignore the spotlight as a staff engineer
An alternate path for Staff+ engineers that optimizes for systems over spotlights and stewardship over fungibility.
New
The latest blog posts to take off on Hacker News. 4,747 posts.
242
Proximity to coworkers increases long-run development, lowers short-term output (2023)
Revise and resubmit, Quarterly Journal of Economics
243
It's Always the Process, Stupid
Why AI Won’t Save Your Broken Workflow
244
Confessions of a Software Developer: No More Self-Censorship
I haven't published since April because I've been afraid. What was I afraid of? In this post I detail every single thing I've avoided admitting on this blog.
245
How good engineers write bad code at big companies
Every couple of years somebody notices that large tech companies sometimes produce surprisingly sloppy code. If you haven’t worked at a big company, it might be…
246
Lobsters Interview
I recently had an engaging conversation with Alex ( @veqq ) from the Lobsters community about computing, mathematics and a range of related topics. Our conversation was later published on the community website as Lobsters Interview with Susam .
247
248
Feedback doesn't scale
Listening is always hard, and it only gets harder at scale.
249
250
Ego, empathy, and humility at work
In our daily lives empathy and humility are obvious virtues we aspire to. They keep our egos in check. Less obvious is that they're practical skills in the workplace, too. I think, for developers and technical leaders in particular, that the absence of ego is the best way to further our careers and do great work.
251
"Good engineering management" is a fad
As I get older, I increasingly think about whether I’m spending my time the right way to advance my career and my life. This is also a question that your company asks about you every performance cycle: is this engineering manager spending their time effectively to advance the company or their organization?…
252
We stopped roadmap work for a week and fixed bugs
How quarterly fixit weeks help teams tackle small annoyances that never bubble up to the priority list.
253
Indie, alone, and figuring it out
Going indie looks like freedom from the outside. But once you’re in it, you face loneliness, pressure, constant decisions, user feedback, and all the invisible work no one warns you about. This is what the journey feels like, and why it’s still worth it.
254
The peaceful transfer of power in open source projects
Most of the people who run Open Source projects are mortal. Recent history shows us that they will all eventually die, or get bored, or win the lottery, or get sick, or be conscripted, or lose their mind. If you've ever visited a foreign country's national history museum, I guarantee you've read this little snippet…
255
Maybe you’re not trying
On selective agency in capable people
256
257
Blame as a Service
Productized scapegoating
258
259
Always be ready to leave (even if you never do)
After 7 years at the same company, I'm moving on. But the practices that made my exit smooth aren't exit strategies—they're professional habits everyone should build, whether they're staying or leaving.
260
Becoming a compiler engineer
I got a job!
261
262
The kind of company I want to be a part of
'aight, hear me out guy(s) (👀 👀 👀)
263
264
How to build silos and decrease collaboration on purpose
Although counter-intuitive, it can be beneficial to build silos and decrease collaboration between teams. Balance the need for collaboration, coordination, and communication with these tips.
265
Taking money off the table
Written pieces, talks, and other bits by Zach Holman.
266
Tips for stroke-surviving software engineers
This is a pretty niche topic; I don't imagine there are many of us out there. Actually, to be strict, I'd say this advice is tailored to people who've had hemorrhagic stroke in the parietal lobe…
267
Mistakes I see engineers making in their code reviews
In the last two years, code review has gotten much more important. Code is now easy to generate using LLMs, but it’s still just as hard to review. Many software…
268
Advice for new principal tech ICs (i.e., notes to myself)
Based on what I've learned from role models and mentors in Amazon
269
Code like a surgeon
A lot of people say AI will make us all “managers” or “editors”…but I think this is a dangerously incomplete view!
270
When is it better to think without words?
Non-verbal, blurry thinking is faster and can search in a broader way, but it is more error-prone than verbal thought.