CTO Insights - Issue #142
CTO Insights - Issue #142
GitHub's Blazing Fast Search & Retrieval, Engineering Management, Managing Independent Contractors, AI Ethics, Mental Health in Tech Leadership and more...
Hi, this is Tosho Trajanov with CTO Insights #142.
As I prepare to jet off to Belgium later today, I have an exciting offer for those interested in attending the Elevate conference by Plato. Snag a free ticket or take advantage of a 50% discount - see the details bellow.
CTO Insights is a weekly newsletter on software engineering and technical leadership, aiming to provide you with a set of topics to keep you up to date with the latest developments in the industry and help you be a better leader.
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Featured
Elevate, 2023
Are you an engineering leader looking to elevate your team's performance?
Don't miss Elevate, the No-BS conference designed for engineering leaders like you. Featuring speakers from top companies like Gusto, Okta, Adobe, and Netflix, the event is packed with insights on infrastructure migration, engineering performance evaluation, and much more. Reserve your seat for this in-person event in San Francisco on November 7-8, 2023.
🎉 Exclusive Offer for CTO Insights Readers. 🎉
Our friends at PlatoHQ have provided a free ticket (worth $750) for the CTO Inishgts Readers and a 50% discount on any regular purchase. Shoot me an email for the free ticket (first come, first served), or click the link to get the ticket at half price.
Architecture
How GitHub Indexes Code For Blazing Fast Search & Retrieval
In this article, you'll learn about the innovative techniques GitHub uses to offer high-speed code search across 200 million repositories.
The article dives into GitHub's custom-built search engine, Project Blackbird, coded in Rust, and its massive hardware setup. It discusses the special indexing techniques, such as n-grams and content-addressable storage, that handle the enormous scale. Other insights include the use of Kafka for event-driven architecture, delta encoding to speed up indexing, and a unique data structure called the geometric filter.
Discover how GitHub optimizes data storage, enhances search capabilities, and ensures smooth scaling.
Scalability
Culture
How DoorDash Defines Great Engineering Management
This article is about DoorDash's comprehensive framework for Engineering Management, designed to scale excellence across the organization.
You'll gain insights into the specific roles and responsibilities for managerial positions ranging from Manager to Senior Director. Whether you're an aspiring engineering manager or an executive looking for scalable excellence, this piece will reveal how DoorDash's management strategy could be the gold standard for modern tech companies.
Leadership
Overcoming the Challenges of Managing Independent Contractors
A comprehensive and well-structured story that tackles some of the most pressing concerns surrounding the growing trend of hiring ICs. The story covers various facets, from cultural differences to operational challenges and compliance issues, providing actionable insights and solutions for each.
Given the nature of this landscape, the adaptability of both companies and contractors will indeed be the key to success. The "gig economy" is here to stay, and the article serves as an excellent roadmap for businesses navigating this new terrain.
Artificial Intelligence
The Challenges of Producing Quality Code When Using AI-Based Generalistic Models
Learn about ethical and practical challenges surrounding AI models - a thought-provoking speech by Luise Freese and Iona Varga at NDC Oslo 2023.
They argue that while AI can mimic intelligent behavior, it is fundamentally a tool relying on statistics. The duo cautions against using generalist "foundational" models for specific tasks, like code generation, which may not meet safety or quality standards.
Product
New Product Management Template: Product Positioning
In this article, you'll learn about the role of product positioning in shaping your product strategy.
The story contains a template that’ll help you and your team distill the essence of your product's value into a clear positioning statement. Understand how effective product positioning is both an art and a science, requiring a synthesis of market trends, customer needs, and your product's unique attributes.
The Product Manager’s Guide to Managing Technical Debt
Another story that amplifies the fact that technical debt is a critical yet often overlooked aspect of product management. Discover how unmanaged tech debt can consume 30% of your IT budget and stifle innovation.
Whether you're dealing with a rapidly evolving MVP or inheriting a rushed project, you'll find insights on how to quantify and control this "silent killer" of product development. Learn tactical approaches for reducing tech debt to ensure the long-term success of your product and make life easier for your development team.
Other
What Tech Skills are Most in Demand in 2023 & Command Top Salaries?
Find out about the top tech skills in high demand in 2023, based on Hired's State of Tech Salaries report. Discover why expertise in Generative AI is particularly hot, causing a 21% YoY increase in demand for AI professionals. Beyond the tech and healthcare sectors, find out how finance and science are also driving the need for AI talent. With a talent pool not growing quickly enough to meet demand, companies are willing to pay a premium for these skills. A staggering 59% of employers believe AI expertise adds exceptional value, shaping the future of tech employment and salaries.
Site Reliability Engineering: A Comprehensive Guide
Learn the fundamentals of Site Reliability Engineering (SRE), a discipline focused on ensuring system reliability and availability. Understand how SRE differs from DevOps and the importance of automation in tasks like deployment and monitoring.
Discover why companies are increasingly adopting this approach to manage large-scale, fault-tolerant systems. Ideal for CTOs looking to improve system reliability and operational efficiency.
One Minute For Mental Health
The story talks about the importance of mental health, especially in high-stress roles like tech leadership. Explore the notion of "putting your oxygen mask on first" as a critical self-care strategy. Discover quick, actionable tips like the "Feelings Wheel" for checking in on your emotional state—and learn how this can be a powerful tool for team empathy.
Timely for World Mental Health Day, but essential for every day, this piece is for CTOs balancing numerous responsibilities while striving to maintain mental well-being.
Events
Ship Work That Matters with Ryan Singer - the author of the 'Shape Up' framework
An exclusive session with Ryan Singer to discover practical ways to break the cycle of missed deadlines and resource wastage in software development. When I met Ryan a few months ago, I was blown away by the framework and their approach to things.
If you are in product or engineering, I genuinely suggest you register for the event.
Closing Notes
Thank you for reading through this week's newsletter — I hope you found the content insightful.
Let me know your thoughts in the comments section below.
That is all. Thank you, everyone.
Wishing you a productive and fulfilling week ahead.