#242 – May 18, 2025
but your hiring strategy might
AI won't kill junior devs but your hiring strategy might
about 1 hour by Addy Osmani
No juniors today means no seniors tomorrow. Addy argues that despite AI's increasing role in coding, junior developers remain essential but their position is transforming. Instead of writing boilerplate code, they must focus on higher-level skills like debugging, system design, and collaboration. Companies eliminating junior positions risk their future talent pipeline, as today's juniors become tomorrow's seniors. Successful junior developers will use AI as a learning tool rather than a crutch, verifying its output and understanding the reasoning behind solutions.
Developers don’t need more documentation
sponsored by Unblocked
Docs get written, but answers stay hard to find. The problem isn’t the docs themselves. It’s that the context developers need is scattered, outdated, or missing entirely. Why does this keep happening? And what’s the alternative?
In a high-stress work environment, prioritize relationships
1 minute by wqtz
Don't burn bridges when stressed, these connections are valuable for future recommendations and opportunities. This article advises against dramatic exits and instead encourages focusing on the human aspect of workplace relationships.
Lessons from an angry Uber all-hands meeting
7 minutes by Claire Lew
Claire reflects on Uber's recent employee backlash over benefit reductions, particularly extending the sabbatical eligibility from five to eight years. She argues that taking benefits away is one of leadership's hardest tests, offering a framework for better implementation: be transparent about what's at stake, communicate what's being gained, provide some element of choice even amid constraints, and show genuine empathy for employees affected by the changes.
Drive adoption of AI
7 minutes by Jim Grey
AI tools are delivering significant productivity gains for software engineers by automating routine tasks. In this post Jim suggests encouraging rather than mandating AI adoption, sharing success stories to drive natural adoption, and implementing clear policies to address data privacy and intellectual property concerns.
Infrastructure gravity and domain engineering
20 minutes by Jack Danger
In this manual Jack introduces a three-tiered model for engineering in product-shipping companies: product engineering (feature creation), domain engineering (shared functionality between features), and infrastructure engineering (foundational systems). Engineers are naturally pulled to either the top layer through "feature lift" or the bottom layer via "infrastructure gravity," leaving the critical middle layer neglected. Investing in the domain layer provides superlinear returns as it encapsulates a company's competitive advantages and reduces development drag across features.
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And the most popular article from the last issue was: