The Peterman Pod

Ethan Evans is a former VP at Amazon has seen pretty much every possible type of corporate politics. Now that he's retired, he could share everything he'd seen including stories about empire building, hidden politics, reorgs, senior promos and dealing with bad managers.

🔸 The keyboard I'm building: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ryanlpeterman/compose-simple-ergonomics-beautifully-done

𝗣𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸𝘀:
• YouTube: https://youtu.be/6WaeGfLnRvc
• Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-peterman-pod/id1777363835
• Transcript: https://www.developing.dev/p/amazon-vp-reveals-everything-hes

𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗺𝗽𝘀:
00:00 - Intro
2:33 - Empire Building
31:54 - Stealing scope
44:03 - Managing out via reorgs
51:01 - Bad managers and mutiny
01:01:43 - Political messaging
01:11:48 - Handling politically skilled operators
01:20:01 - Orgs trying to steal scope
01:30:26 - Handling difficult people from other orgs
01:36:19 - Handling weak managers
01:46:30 - Backchanneling
01:52:04 - Influence without authority
01:58:04 - Sexual harassment
02:00:49 - Skip overruling firing
02:05:39 - How to fire managers
02:11:31 - Leverage when people are getting fired
02:24:01 - How to grow past senior eng
02:43:01 - How to avoid politics
02:48:15 - Advice for younger self
02:49:51 - Outro

𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗘𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ethanevansvp/
• X/Twitter: https://x.com/EthanEvansVP
• Newsletter: https://levelupwithethanevans.substack.com/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-BAdkBGjOIlccGLZ3jbLiA

𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝘆𝗮𝗻:

• Newsletter: https://www.developing.dev/
• X/Twitter: https://x.com/ryanlpeterman
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanlpeterman/
• Threads: https://www.threads.com/@ryanlpeterman
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ryanlpeterman
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ryanlpeterman

This is a conversation with Brendan Burns, co-creator of Kubernetes and current technical fellow at Microsoft working on Azure. We discussed what it was like building it at Google, how he got buy-in, and what he learned along the way.

🔸 My keyboard project: https://read.compose.llc/p/our-keyboard-design-reveal

𝗣𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸𝘀:
• YouTube: https://youtu.be/FKijpCEH9D8
• Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-peterman-pod/id1777363835
• Transcript: https://www.developing.dev/p/the-creator-of-kubernetes-on-building

𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗺𝗽𝘀:
00:00:00 - Intro
00:00:37 - How he convinced Google leaders
00:09:26 - Building the MVP
00:11:43 - How he made time for Kubernetes
00:25:28 - Technical details on building Kubernetes
00:38:46 - Rallying the open source community
00:50:01 - Scaling Kubernetes up for AI training workloads
00:55:31 - Reflections on getting a PhD
01:00:22 - The inevitable trajectory of software is death
01:04:16 - Top book recommendations
01:05:22 - Advice for his younger self
01:06:21 - Outro

𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗕𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗻:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendan-burns-487aa590/
• Twitter/X: https://x.com/brendandburns
• Github: https://github.com/brendandburns

𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝘆𝗮𝗻:

• Newsletter: https://www.developing.dev/
• X/Twitter: https://x.com/ryanlpeterman
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanlpeterman/
• Threads: https://www.threads.com/@ryanlpeterman
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ryanlpeterman
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ryanlpeterman

Austen McDonald is a former hiring committee member at Meta, where he led mobile hiring and conducted hundreds of interviews. In this episode, we talked about what happens behind the scenes in a hiring committee, unethical candidates, and the role referrals play.

🔸 (Sponsor) Hello Interview's Website - https://www.hellointerview.com/

𝗣𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸𝘀:

• YouTube: https://youtu.be/nOapM8i5jr0
• Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-peterman-pod/id1777363835
• Transcript: https://www.developing.dev/p/meta-hiring-lead-on-behind-the-scenes

𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗺𝗽𝘀:

00:00:00 - Intro
00:00:49 - What goes on in hiring committees
00:09:02 - Unethical candidates
00:12:50 - How leveling is determined
00:23:12 - Can you negotiate level mid-process
00:32:30 - How non-tech leads can signal scope
00:39:11 - Referrals and bias
00:45:28 - What the rubric looks like
00:50:00 - OpenAI and Anthropic specific discussion
00:52:22 - Most common mistakes senior candidates make
01:02:31 - How to prep depending on your level
01:08:34 - Subjectivity and bias
01:21:02 - The questions you ask at the end matter
01:23:59 - Storytelling tips
01:30:31 - How he got promoted to Senior Manager (M2) at Meta
01:33:32 - His biggest career regret
01:38:13 - The best advice he ever received
01:39:54 - Advice for younger self
01:41:46 - Outro

𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻:

• LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/austenmc/
• His book - https://thebehavioral.tech/

𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝘆𝗮𝗻:

• Newsletter: https://www.developing.dev/
• X/Twitter: https://x.com/ryanlpeterman
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanlpeterman/
• Threads: https://www.threads.com/@ryanlpeterman
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ryanlpeterman
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ryanlpeterman

This is Michael Bolin, the tech lead for the open source Codex repository and a former distinguished engineer at Meta. We talked about his career path, how OpenAI engineers use Codex and the difference between research-led vs engineering-led company cultures.

🔸 My keyboard project: https://read.compose.llc/p/our-keyboard-design-reveal

𝗣𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸𝘀:

• YouTube: https://youtu.be/hN5ZFzWFhhg
• Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-peterman-pod/id1777363835
• Transcript: https://www.developing.dev/p/openai-codex-tech-lead-on-how-his

𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗺𝗽𝘀:

00:00:00 - Intro
00:00:56 - Chickenfoot
00:02:45 - Working at Google
00:06:34 - Overhauling Facebook's build system
00:16:36 - Rewriting Facebook's IDE
00:26:01 - Struggles after Principal Eng (E8) promo
00:28:39 - Building a virtual filesystem for Facebook
00:35:47 - Delayed Distinguished promo (E9) and learnings
00:39:56 - Joining OpenAI
00:43:05 - Research-led vs engineering-led cultures
00:44:53 - The story behind Codex
00:51:00 - How he uses Codex
00:57:00 - Why Codex's harness is open source
00:59:50 - Top technical book recommendations
01:05:02 - Why deep technical skills are still valuable (for now)
01:11:07 - How to start projects well
01:14:27 - Advice on writing better and career planning
01:17:06 - Advice for his younger self
01:19:10 - Outro

𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗠𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗲𝗹:

• His personal blog - https://blog.bolinfest.com/
• Twitter/X - https://x.com/bolinfest
• Threads - https://www.threads.com/@bolinfest
• LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-bolin-7632712

𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝘆𝗮𝗻:

• Newsletter: https://www.developing.dev/
• X/Twitter: https://x.com/ryanlpeterman
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanlpeterman/
• Threads: https://www.threads.com/@ryanlpeterman
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ryanlpeterman
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ryanlpeterman

Bryan Cantrill was a distinguished engineer at Sun Microsystems and has now founded his own company called Oxide Computer Company. We discussed his career experiences through boom/busts, what competing with Bezos was like, and career regrets.

𝗣𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸𝘀:

• YouTube: https://youtu.be/qhSL-5GtmQM
• Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-peterman-pod/id1777363835
• Transcript: https://www.developing.dev/p/distinguished-eng-on-stack-ranking

𝗘𝗽𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗱𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸𝘀:

• Link to the part in the talk on Oracle/Sun we discussed - https://youtu.be/-zRN7XLCRhc?si=eExjIMZROGjJcDsw&t=1977

𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗺𝗽𝘀:

00:00:00 - Intro
00:00:42 - Working at Sun Microsystems
00:10:17 - His growth to distinguished eng
00:19:14 - Why goaling on promotion is bad
00:29:34 - Stack ranking and layoffs
00:36:00 - Why he hated the Oracle acquisition
00:44:19 - Why Bezos is the apex predator of capitalism
00:48:04 - Differences between CTO and VP
00:49:58 - Starting his own company
01:02:37 - Grilling him on his past
01:11:57 - AI boom and bust advice
01:14:41 - When he was happiest in his career
01:17:22 - Top career regret
01:19:21 - Advice for younger self
01:20:57 - Outro

𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗕𝗿𝘆𝗮𝗻:

• LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryan-cantrill-b6a1/
• Twitter/X - https://x.com/bcantrill
• Personal Website - https://bcantrill.dtrace.org/
• His company - https://oxide.computer/

𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝘆𝗮𝗻:

• Newsletter: https://www.developing.dev/
• X/Twitter: https://x.com/ryanlpeterman
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanlpeterman/
• Threads: https://www.threads.com/@ryanlpeterman
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ryanlpeterman
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ryanlpeterman