What Does a CTO Actually Do?
Mar 6 · 15 min read · What Does a CTO Actually Do? I’ve made the Postgres versus MongoDB call more times than I can count. At Firefly Events, we chose MongoDB deliberately for its timeseries data capabilities, native geo-sharding, and the eventual consistency model we’d s...
Join discussionEngineering Leadership Beyond Delivery: Why Psychological Safety Matters
Feb 12 · 3 min read · In engineering organisations, conversations about performance often revolve around delivery: deadlines met, features shipped, KPIs achieved. Over the years, I've noticed how easily this focus becomes exclusive, almost eclipsing the human side of the ...
Join discussion
Access Isn’t Ownership
Feb 10 · 4 min read · We have four senior engineers.All of them have admin access to Jira.None of them considers themselves the owner. And when something breaks, the default assumption is always the same: someone else will deal with it. Access is not ownership. Ownership ...
Join discussionWhy Freelancers Need Better Systems
Feb 6 · 3 min read · A Conversation with Ashkan Rajaee Freelance software development has grown rapidly, but many experienced developers still struggle with unstable projects, unclear expectations, and unnecessary stress that has nothing to do with writing code. To under...
Join discussion
Engineering Management in the Netherlands: Should You Stay Technical or Embrace Leadership?
Feb 5 · 5 min read · After stepping into engineering management in the Netherlands myself, I found it surprisingly difficult to decide whether to stay technical or go full leadership. Here’s what I’ve learned and what I think others should consider. As engineers rise int...
Join discussion
Beyond the Code: Good Systems are Raised, Not Just Written
Feb 2 · 3 min read · The 6-Month-Old Puppy Principle I’ve spent a lot of time lately training my dog. He’s been with us for four months now, barely six months old, and our days are filled with the basics: sit, lie down, paw. But we’re also working on the harder stuff—pat...
Join discussion