The Peterman Pod

David Ronca joined Netflix in 2007 and grew to an engineering director there. Later he joined Meta as a Director and transitioned to a Principal engineer working on video technologies. Now he's retired and was graciously willing to share his career story with us. I asked him for everything he learned in his 36 year career.

𝗣𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸𝘀:
• Transcript: https://www.developing.dev/p/retired-netflix-engineering-director
• YouTube: https://youtu.be/ApG9vjbHDCk
• Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-peterman-pod/id1777363835

𝗘𝗽𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗱𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸𝘀:

• Netflix culture memo (2009) - https://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/culture-1798664/1798664

𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗺𝗽𝘀:
00:00:00 - Intro
00:00:40 - How Netflix was different
00:08:01 - The legendary Netflix culture memo
00:18:54 - How to hire engineers well
00:30:52 - The strongest engineer he's ever met
00:33:02 - Joining Meta
00:50:52 - Near death experience
00:59:04 - Where he learned the most
01:04:09 - Book that impacted his career most
01:11:33 - Advice for his younger self
01:18:32 - Outro

𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗗𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗱:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidronca/
• Personal Website: https://www.roncatech.com/

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 Adam Ernst, a Distinguished Engineer at Meta (IC9) who’s built iOS infrastructure that has impacted the entire company. We talked about how his career grew, a major failed project of his, and everything he learned growing to that level.

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

𝗣𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸𝘀:
• YouTube: https://youtu.be/YA_OYJF3Mmw
• Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-peterman-pod/id1777363835
• Transcript: https://www.developing.dev/p/meta-distinguished-eng-ic9-on-influencing

𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗺𝗽𝘀:
00:00:00 - Intro
00:00:47 - His middle school company
00:03:50 - His first project and promo at Meta
00:10:03 - Why code review is undervalued
00:12:42 - Senior Staff (IC7) promo story and project
00:19:26 - His major failed project
00:26:35 - How to handle a failed project
00:29:04 - Thoughts on management
00:31:35 - Technical depth vs breadth
00:33:32 - IC9 expectations
00:34:46 - Senior engineers he admires
00:37:39 - Advice for his younger self
00:39:52 - Outro

𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝗱𝗮𝗺:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamjernst/

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

Ryan Olson grew from mid-level engineer (IC4) to a principal engineer (IC8) at Instagram through a series of famous projects. The most notable was when he was the lead iOS developer that built Instagram Stories. We discuss his career journey and learnings.

𝗣𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸𝘀:
• Transcript: https://www.developing.dev/p/instagram-principal-eng-ic8-on-building
• Spotify: Episode link from Spotify after scheduling
• YouTube: https://youtu.be/gpVETZnY9Y0
• Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-peterman-pod/id1777363835

• Zuckerberg emails I mentioned:
Twitter link: https://x.com/TechEmails/status/1944451283236303184
Threads link: https://www.threads.com/@techemails/post/DMDi5IWpPyC

𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗺𝗽𝘀:
00:00:00 - Intro
00:00:31 - Failing his FB interview
00:03:27 - Interning /w future billionaires
00:14:08 - Interview nerves tip
00:16:37 - Early Instagram experiences
00:34:08 - Building Instagram Stories
00:45:03 - 1 promo per half to Staff (IC6)
00:49:51 - Senior staff promo project (IC7)
00:57:37 - IG labs & his principal promo (IC8)
01:08:19 - Starting Retro and leaving big tech
01:21:33 - Small teams hypothetical
01:25:17 - Examples of talented individuals
01:31:16 - Advice to his younger self
01:34:45 - Outro

𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝘆𝗮𝗻:

• Retro (his company): https://retro.app/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanolsonk/
• X/Twitter: https://x.com/ryanolsonk
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ryanolsonk/
• Threads: https://www.threads.com/@ryanolsonk

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

In this episode, I talked to "Asian Dad Energy" an anonymous big techie who was laid off after 25 years in the industry. We discussed his layoffs experience, his early career in engineering consulting, and the realities of big tech compensation.

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

𝗣𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸𝘀:
• YouTube: https://youtu.be/8bs6KmJX4_g
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4ApCuf04MXv0nBRqKNLyiQ?si=bko-M46xQM2FHhTG6Vcy6Q
• Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-peterman-pod/id1777363835
• Transcript: https://www.developing.dev/p/laid-off-from-big-tech-after-25-years

𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗺𝗽𝘀:
00:00:00 - Intro
00:00:41 - His layoff story
00:07:02 - Why he expects more layoffs
00:09:42 - Tech consulting before big tech
00:19:25 - Consultants shipping bad code?
00:26:57 - Why do people dislike consultants?
00:30:55 - Big tech compensation
00:40:27 - When age impacted his flexibility
00:42:04 - Why YouTube
00:46:46 - Speaking advice for engineers
00:49:09 - Advice for younger self
00:49:35 - Outro

𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗶𝗺:

• https://www.youtube.com/@AsianDadEnergy

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

In this episode, I talked to Nimit Sohoni, a Stanford PhD and AI Researcher at Cartesia who previously worked as a quant at Citadel. We discussed the differences between AI research and quant careers, including work-life balance and the value of a PhD in these fields. Nimit also shared what he's currently working on and offered advice for those looking to transition into AI research.

𝗣𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸𝘀:
• YouTube: https://youtu.be/_jECS37M3dQ
• Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-peterman-pod/id1777363835
• Transcript: https://www.developing.dev/p/stanford-phd-ai-researcher-and-quant

𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗺𝗽𝘀:
00:00:00 - Intro
00:00:45 - Do you need a PhD?
00:06:25 - Research taste and finding problems
00:09:04 - Why become a quant
00:12:01 - What quants do
00:14:53 - How quants and SWEs collaborate
00:16:29 - Quant vs tech culture
00:26:39 - Quant firm tier list
00:27:56 - Quant insider trading and perf culture
00:30:53 - Going back to AI research
00:35:08 - Who the top competitors are in voice AI
00:39:22 - AI startups vs big labs
00:42:08 - State space models vs transformers
00:49:33 - AI labs: research or product?
00:52:38 - Advice for SWEs who want to try AI research
00:56:48 - Advice for younger self
00:57:49 - Outro

𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗡𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘁:

• Twitter/X: https://x.com/nimit_sohoni
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nimit-sohoni-68998854/
• Cartesia: https://cartesia.ai/sonic

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