Chris Svec returns to the show to discuss the messy, non-linear realities of engineering management and onboarding new college graduates. We explore why companies should bother hiring fresh grads in the first place, how to prevent junior developers from going dark when they get stuck, and why admitting ignorance publicly is an absolute workplace superpower. Along the way, we dive into managing genius firmware engineering hires, battling technical debt and software entropy, and why your development team shouldn't communicate solely through pull request comments.

Chris Svec is the Director of Embedded Software Engineering at Insulet. If you're looking for an experienced leadership or management thought partner to help scale your development team, Chris Svec offers private coaching and consulting. You can reach him directly at the email given in the show (or hit the contact link and we’ll forward your message along).

Recommended Books for Engineering Managers & Tech Leads

The Manager's Path by Camille Fournier – A guide for navigating tech leadership and managing engineering teams.
Resilient Management by Lara Hogan – A book dedicated to the human side of engineering management.

Software Architecture & Embedded Systems Resources

A Philosophy of Software Design by John Ousterhout – A high-level philosophical perspective on software engineering and architecture.
The Pragmatic Programmer by Andrew Hunt and David Thomas – A classic text on software development best practices.
Joel on Software by Joel Spolsky – Insights on software development methodologies and managing tech teams.
Making Embedded Systems by Elecia White – A comprehensive guide to firmware design patterns and embedded architecture.
Embedded for Everyone by Nathan Jones – A curated repository of accessible embedded system learning resources.

Educational Programming Games

Shenzhen I.O. by Zachtronics – An interactive puzzle game for learning assembly programming.
Typer Shark! Deluxe – A classic game to improve typing speed and precision for developers.

Mentions and Episode Context

Embedded.fm blog post: Resilience is a Skill and Embedded Skills Tree
The "Meow Meow Beans" episode from the TV show Community (season 5, episode 8), see a snippet.
All Systems Red by Martha Wells – The sci-fi novel featured in today's closing quote

If you want to dive into Svec’s previous appearances on the podcast, be sure to check out:

78: Happy Cows (His very first appearance, discussing empathy in software development)
250: Yolo Snarf (All about version control, gitflow, and D&D)
297: Mice to Do My Bidding (Focusing on attentional focus and workflow psychological tricks)
402: We Are a Lazy Species (Software schedule estimation alongside Philip Johnston)
436: 20 GOTO 10 (Discussing modern kids' programming languages and the longevity of the Joel Test)

Transcript