Kelsey Skaja

While there are certainly individual variations in skill and experience when discussing modern software development the story is much more nuanced than pure individual effort.  * software development is a team sport -- individual performance is heavily impacted by the system in which they are asked to operate in.  * we pair skill and experience to this model of understanding performance by expecting people to be able to influence and adapt in direct proportion to their seniority, aka the more senior you are the more responsible you are for the outcomes of your work, the less senior you are the more your manager and management chain are responsible.  * humans want to succeed, we're social animals who derive purpose from demonstrating skill, and working collectively. All of which is to say there is no way you have over 1000 people underperforming at your company without senior leadership deeply implicated in.  If nearly 10% of your company is failing, versus just having the market move against you, you need to fire the CEO.

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I first joined Amazon in December of 2005. Even though I left for two years, my "Amaversary" still coincides with the end of the year and a natural moment for reflection. As I reached my 17 year mark this December, I also had the privilege of working with Amazon Careers to share some of my journey and thoughts about individual contributor technical leader and people manager career paths. In my ruminating, I put together far more content than could be used for a single article. So, I've decided to post here as a series of Q&As - in case others might find my observations, experiences, and perspectives interesting or useful. Below is the first of 6. 1. 𝘽𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙛𝙡𝙮 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙚𝙧 𝙟𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙚𝙮; 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙢𝙤𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙤𝙣 𝙙𝙞𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙚𝙧 𝙥𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙨, 𝙄𝘾 𝙫𝙨 𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙖𝙜𝙚𝙧? I started my career as a software engineer 25 years ago. I've worked for startups, enterprise companies, and 7 different organizations over 17 years and two tours at Amazon. I've written firmware for robotic camera mounts; built highly scalable distributed systems; designed restaurant marketing, ordering, logistics, and operations software; created automated test harnesses for mobile games; tested HD DVD encoding; helped launch grocery delivery to customers around the globe - just to name a few of the many cool things I've had the privilege to work on. I've been an entry-level software engineer, a technical lead of teams, a software manager on a couple of occasions, chief software architect reporting to a CTO, and (for the last few years) Amazon Principal Engineer directly supporting a VP with about 200 engineers within my remit. I first became a manager because I mistakenly thought it was the only way to continue growing as a leader, and in many ways I failed. I learned some very humbling lessons about leadership through that experience, which I used to be a better individual contributor technical leader on my path to Senior Engineer. My second time as manager was because my organization had a need that I could fill. I had grown enough as a leader that this time I was much more successful. I said yes to an opportunity that started with managing a small team through delivery of a complex and critical project. Once I grew a high performing team that delivered that initial project, I took on more scope and expanded into multiple teams. After a couple of years of success growing and investing in my teams so that we could deliver greater value to our customers and business, I decided to prioritize being close to my family. For me, at that time, it meant giving up my people management role and returning to the role of an individual contributor technical leader that supports a globally distributed organization. Even though I really enjoyed my time as a people manager, there is no better job for me than that of a Principal Engineer. #amazon #careerdevelopment #technicalleadership #peoplemanagement

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𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗹𝗲𝗲𝗽 💤 ? because you can't pinpoint your CI bottlenecks or spot problematic trends? At Pinterest, we faced the same challenges—but we’ve found a solution. 🌟 In our latest Pinterest Engineering blog post 🔗 https://lnkd.in/eJJ_GpGW We share how we’re leveraging honeycomb.io to identify CI root causes through cross-data correlations. Discover our innovative approach for categorizing CI failures in real-time using job log analysis. Learn how to segment CI jobs by agent wait time, script execution, specific Bazel targets, or any other level of detail tailored to your needs. Our enhanced CI observability metrics have let us improve CI stability and boost developer productivity—and they could do the same for you! Check out the blog for the full breakdown and see what’s possible when data-driven decisions guide your CI workflows. 🚀 Let’s make CI faster and more reliable together! #DevOps #DevX #CICD #honeycomb #observability #engineering #softwareengineer

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Want a preview of what I'm going to be talking about in my keynote for RubyConf? You can catch a glimpse of it here!

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Dear friends, and colleagues, we are starting a new STEM program for youth girls, and wondering if you would help support the its goals, by donating a bit through your organization match, or directly via PayPal. My 14 yr old daughter Elle and her friend participated in a Google sponsored Girls in Tech robotics event, and through that they both felt what it is like to engage in technology in a fun and challenging robotics competition, in which they came in FIRST place. They never before felt such empowerment and satisfaction through their efforts! Purely due to that experience they are both fired up to do more. X Academy is sponsoring this program. This program aims to inspire and empower the next generation of female innovators. This new girls team will compete using the VEX V5 robotics system, and this is where we need help sourcing the funds for the equipment. Donate Now: PayPal Donation Link https://lnkd.in/gW7HqRAP Thanks for your support, and full details below, -Russsell What is X Academy The X Academy (https://www.xacademy.org/) is a parent-led 501c3 nonprofit celebrating its 10th year of providing STEM enrichment for middle and high school students throughout Santa Cruz County. Over 500 middle school students experienced the joy of challenging math through the Math Circle and Julia Robinson Math Festivals. In June this year, the X Academy high school robotics team won 3rd place at the MATE ROV World Championship. Why Your Support Matters STEM education (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) plays a crucial role in shaping our future.By supporting our girls’ robotics team, you are helping to build a strong foundation for these young women to excel in these fields and contribute to groundbreaking advancements in technology and engineering. We're passionate about ensuring that robotics is a welcoming and empowering space for all. We want girls to feel like they have a place in robotics. We recognize that historical biases, stereotypes and limiting self-perceptions can discourage girls from pursuing STEM fields, and we're committed to changing that narrative. How You Can Help To make this initiative a success, we need to raise a fund of $7500 for the VEX V5 robot (parts and tools), playfield setup, and competition fees. Your generous donation will directly support these essential components, ensuring that our team has the resources they need to compete and thrive. Corporate Matching Opportunities If you are affiliated with a company that participates in employee donation matching programs, we encourage you to donate through your company’s Benevity portal. Many companies offer to match donations, effectively doubling your impact. X Academy is listed on Benevity, making it easy for your company to contribute. We are incredibly grateful for your support and commitment to fostering the next generation of female leaders in STEM. Together, we can make a significant difference.

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Back in my volunteer days at the San Jose Suicide and Crisis Hotline, I stumbled upon a peculiar realization: our emotions are often reflective mirrors of those we interact with. Fast forward to today's remote work era, this understanding has proved invaluable as an engineering manager. In a world where Zoom meetings replace in-person interactions, it's easy to feel disconnected from your team. But, remembering my hotline days, I've learned to check-in with my feelings during remote 1:1's, sensing the vibe from the other end. If I'm bored, they likely are too - time to shake things up. If I'm anxious, they could be feeling the same - let's address it. This "emotional telepathy", combined with genuine curiosity about my team, regular check-ins, and consistent career growth discussions, has enabled me to build trust and maintain cohesion, even from afar. Sometimes, the past holds the keys to our present challenges. Looking to navigate remote leadership? Feel free to drop a message. Let's connect, share, and grow together. #Leadership #RemoteWork #EmotionalIntelligence #EngineeringManagement ----------------------------------- Check out the full article at https://lnkd.in/gmUUHFWX

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Recently, there has been much discussion about Nvidia's CEO's approach of not having 1:1 meetings while leading 60 direct reports, emphasizing the benefits of a flat organizational structure and portraying 1:1s as unnecessary. Like with many trends, the focus has been primarily on these two aspects. Leaders have attempted to replicate this model by increasing the number of direct reports per manager or even eliminating 1:1s altogether. It's refreshing to learn about another side of the story that many are trying to emulate, one where valuing employees and placing them at the center of the organization is crucial for the company's success.

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Y'alls know accessibility is important to me, and that comes in a lot of forms! I wanted to share out two things I've been working on recently that follow the a11y theme, with Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) right around the corner: First, plugging the work we've been doing at Ro around building technology to give patients more access to healthcare so they can achieve their health goals via Patient Intake. Intake isn't "just a form" - it's the key way for patients to communicate their health history, goals, and preferences to their providers in a way that feels human. Behind the scenes, we're making sure every piece of information a patient provides is structured to make sure every point is seen and heard so that our providers can deliver the best possible personalized care. More info on the platform here: https://lnkd.in/gC4ru5ip Second, the lovely Elliot Kipling and I caught up on the Enginears podcast last month around healthcare accessibility and digital accessibility in general. The episode dropped today, check it out here: https://lnkd.in/gbGcBvsB

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📚 My Book-Of-The-Month for October was "Working Backwards: Insights, Stories, and Secrets from Inside Amazon" by Colin Bryar and Bill Carr, former Amazon executives that I overlapped with 📚 It wasn’t until I left Amazon in 2020 and spent 4 years at Google that I realized that all the things I took for granted and considered *common sense* at Amazon didn’t necessarily exist outside Amazon. Jeff is disciplined, so Amazon is disciplined. Jeff and the early s-team encoded a number of mechanisms to ensure Amazon’s core DNA would survive the massive scale that it faced: inspection mechanisms like WBR/MBR/QBR, planning mechanisms like OP1/OP2, hiring mechanisms like the Bar Raising program, and of course the crisp encoding of the Leadership Principles and their ubiquity in everyday life. For all of Amazon’s existence we operated on thin margins, so we needed that discipline and efficiency to survive. If you invented a time machine and transported the 2009 Carlos to 2024, he would recognize Amazon and feel right at home. Yes Amazon 2009 was more of an adolescent amazon and Amazon 2024 is more of a grown-up amazon but the core DNA is still very much there and recognizable. I truly believe that Amazon is an exceptional place to work - not because of the perks and pampering (hum, there's never been many of those LOL), but because of the environment around you. #bookofthemonth #carlosbookofthemonth

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One of the incredible topics I've been able to learn about, and teach, at Amazon has been implicit communication - the meaning that HOW you write and say things imparts to WHAT you write and say. Along the way, I've found quite a lot of information in the form of research studies, scholarly articles, books, factoids, tips, tricks, and so forth - like this article about how being facially expressive has been shown to make people more likeable and socially successful. However, the most valuable lesson I've learned isn't any of those tips, tricks, or facts. It's the importance of being empathetic and authentic: to understand my own emotions and adjust my reactions in response to others, and to instill in myself a genuine desire to collaborate that aligns my implicit and explicit communication. So much of implicit communication is hard-wired into us as humans and happens subconsciously in ways we can't control - but we can control our own emotional state and awareness of others' needs. What emotional state do you want to have going into any conversation or situation? How can you evoke that emotional state in yourself? How can you identify when you may have misinterpreted the communication of others? What can you do to address and mitigate the impact of that misinterpretation? #amazon #leadership #emotionalintelligence #communication #collaboration

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A data-driven approach to driving wound healing outcomes Marcella Gomez, University of California, Santa Cruz https://lnkd.in/gAkWZYJT Meet: https://lnkd.in/g4AAWkcK YouTube Stream: https://lnkd.in/gwtqaTmf Talk details: https://lnkd.in/gWn3B3cU Subscribe for talk announcements: https://lnkd.in/g5ciuNuX Abstract: Precision medicine requires an ability to predict the response of an individual to a prescribed treatment regimen a priori. Thus, advancement in the field is challenged by a lack of predictive models and, arguably, a lack of time-series information for a highly dynamic system. Here, we discuss work in wound healing, for accelerating wound closure. We argue that timing of treatments is as critical to consider as the choice of drug or therapy. Due to system size and complexity, data-driven methods need to be explored to develop multi-dimensional quantifiable indicators tracking systemic changes. In this work I discuss how bioelectronic devices enhanced with deep learning can help facilitate real-time sensing and actuation for automated decisions in treatment for wound healing and preliminary work in transcriptomic based classification of wound states. Bio: Marcella M. Gomez is an associate professor at UC Santa Cruz in the department of Applied Mathematics and Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for Baskin Engineering. She received her PhD from Caltech in 2015 and a B.S. from UC Berkeley in 2009; both degrees in Mechanical Engineering. Her research interests are in the broad field of bio-control leveraging methods in machine learning and control theory. Applications range from controlling single-cell response to driving complex systems such as wound healing. #modeling #simulation #medicine #healing #trauma #predictivemodeling #datascience #data #woundhealing #biology #bioengineering #systemanalysis #sensing #omics

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tldr: I'm hiring! As many of you know, I recently joined Lattice as their SVP of Engineering and I'm excited to announce that I'm hiring for all Engineering levels and more broadly, Lattice has open roles across EPD. If you're wondering, why Lattice? The last few years have seen a step change in how we think about the meaning of work and the employer <> employee relationship - add on the fuel of AI taking our jobs and you could be forgiven for thinking the future of work looks bleak for employees. It doesn't need to be that way - here at Lattice we're building the next generation of talent tools to give employers insights and employees purpose because people matter at work. Among other things, we're using generative AI to securely analyze enormous volumes of data to unlock career insights faster and investing in building equitable feedback, compensation and employer analytics tools - not just for one company but for all companies. If you're interested in making a difference to the future of work then let's chat - all roles are remote eligible and based in the US. We have physical offices in San Francisco and NYC if you prefer the in-office environment.

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I was extremely confused when I woke up this morning. I was a part of a large, sweeping layoff on Friday and today marks the first time in <REDACTED> years that I have not been employed or a full time student. It really set in after the kids went off to school. There are a lot of thoughts and emotions to parse in a situation like this but I'll pick a small story from the weekend to share. As seen in the attached picture, my daughter, father, and I ran a bouncy house fun run on Saturday. It was a great time and my daughter crushed it! About 10-15 minutes after this picture was taken we were walking back to the car and, during a rare moment of silence around my daughter, I thought to myself whether I should post this picture in my company's fitness or parenting Slack channel? I let out an audible half laugh when I remembered neither of those would be happening come Monday as I no longer work for the company. It says a lot about the culture and community that the thought passed through my head at that moment. My point/advice here is NOT to cling to workplace community with all your might when you find it, as I, along with way too many of my green-bannered former colleagues, have recently seen it can be pulled away in an instant so gripping it tight isn't healthy. My point is rather to appreciate and celebrate that culture/community where ever you are able to find it. And, most importantly, take notes. Workplace culture isn't an impossible pipe dream, it is entirely achievable. When you see something that helps you feel like you belong to a community and not just a bunch of work associates, get to the root of why, write it down, and steal it to implement the next time you see a need to do so whether it's at your current job or one somewhere down the line. In short: be the reason that somebody is thinking about company Slack channels while they're walking back to their car after a bouncy house fun run.

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Whenever I get "worried" that an LLM will take my job as a SWE in the near future I look back at this benchmark leader board of real-world issues and am reminded that LLMs have been stuck at making marginal improvements bellow 20% resolved rate for over a year now. That being said, I do think AI will become an increasingly powerful tool in a SWEs belt in the coming years if it hasn't become one already. I personally use it to help me explore a problem space faster and come up with boilerplate for trivial problems and expand from there. In those cases it's like using Google and Stack Overflow and other forums, but faster. Edit: I'd like to also point out that I really like this benchmark because you cannot train a model on it unlike HumanEval. It's in essence, a true test of an llms ability to generalize and solve problems. Source: https://lnkd.in/epK2GQ2w

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Another day in San Francisco with the Swing Education team! I think a yearly in-person All-Hands Meeting is essential for remote teams. It's time to meet new friends and strengthen connections. It's time to literally break bread together. And it's a chance to "rally the troops" and build momentum to get us through the next year. You can show team members how much you value them with nice accommodations and good food. Recent hires can spend time with experienced team members and leave feeling like they're truly part of the team. Leaders can mingle with their teams, building trust through casual face-to-face conversations. And then we all go home recharged to be productive and engaged from our own preferred working environments for another 51 weeks!

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I was reading one of the 2 newsletters I follow - The Grappler's Diary on Substack - and the author (Chris Wojcik) pointed out one of those "well, yeah, of course" kind of ideas that made me stop and think for a bit. Wojcik pointed out that it takes more and more effort to reach higher levels of skill in jiu jitsu. This is of course true of any skill. I've certainly seen that with programming. The easiest and biggest leaps are at the beginning. Going from zero to your first working program is pretty easy. Becoming a true professional developer takes years. Continuous improvement takes introspection, feedback, seeking out training and education, and lots and lots of work. And the noticeable improvements these days are small: cleaner code, improved readability, and better organization. Little things that matter. And the more time I spend as a "programmer" the less I write code and the more time I spend on related things: technical design, code review, stakeholder relations, project management, and more. Just as you get more skilled in martial arts, the more time you spend teaching, coaching, and advising, and the less time you spend getting beat up by kids.

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Today, I am inspired after reading about the young people in Hawaii who have made significant strides by fighting for their health, safety, and the future of their home. Please take a moment to read this short article about their climate victory: "Hawaii Transportation Youth Climate Change Lawsuit Historic Settlement" Despite not having a title with the word "climate" in it, I am making it my goal to incorporate climate responsibility into my day-to-day work. I work in tech for a medical device company, but there are considerations I can make about how to implement software, keeping digital waste in mind when designing systems, and more. Everything we do has the potential to influence how we function within our global context. Merely initiating conversations about climate change is a step in the right direction. As I learned in my time taking the Terra.do Climate: Learning for Action course, every job is a climate job. Similarly, each of us has a role to play in our daily lives. Stay informed, and don't be afraid to ask questions! I look forward to being more active in these discussions and hope to share inspiration within my personal circle as well. It's intimidating, but exciting!

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I'm sure there are a few of you out there wondering what I have been up to since I left Cadence. I was lucky enough to join a terrific startup called Metrics Design Automation. I’d like to tell you how wonderful our products are, but it would be better if you saw for yourself. If you have any interest in simulation, please go to www.metrics.ca and check it out! While you're there, watch a couple of the videos we put together that show you how easy it is to get started with DSim.

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We talk a lot about AI hallucinating but not enough about the other side of that coin: people hallucinating AI. The rise of AI enabled interactions has prompted a lot of folks to chalk up every inauthentic-feeling communication they receive as "AI" when quite a bit of it is good old fassioned humans following the same tired corporate boilerplate they've been using for years (and which that AI was likely trained on). Authenticity is becoming performative out of necessity. If your communications are too polished, too professional (see how I'm using that comma improperly to create a more human sounding sentence?) you'll come off as a robot and alienate your audience in the process.

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