Today’s guest is Dana Lawson!
Dana is CTO at Netlify and held leadership roles at incredible companies like GitHub, New Relic, InVision, and more.
With Dana, we talked about her journey, starting in the military, becoming a manager and major lessons she has learned. We also talked about how to hire engineers, how to create a diverse and inclusive team, and the impact of AI on engineering.
🎙️ Episode
You can watch the full episode on Youtube:
Or listen to it on Spotify, Apple, Overcast, or your podcast app of choice.
🥇 Interview Summary
If you are a 🔒 paid subscriber 🔒 you will find my own summary of the interview below.
It’s the 10-minute, handcrafted takeaways of what we talked about, with timestamps to the relevant video moments, for those who don’t have time to sit through the 1-hour chat.
Here is the agenda for today:
🛣️ Dana's journey into tech (02:22)
👨💼 The evolution of engineering leadership (10:06)
🚀 Engineering culture at Netlify (21:31)
👥 Hiring engineers and building teams (27:49)
🤖 AI’s impact on software development (28:09)
Let’s dive in!
1) 🛣️ Dana's journey into tech (02:22)
Dana's path to tech is far from typical, highlighting the diverse backgrounds that can lead to successful careers in the industry.
🎨 From art school to the US Army
Dana's journey began in a small border town in New Mexico. Initially pursuing art in college, she made a pivotal decision to join the US Army, seeking an opportunity to change her situation.
🪖 Discovering tech in the military
In the late 90s, Dana chose a computer-related role in the Army, partly motivated by the promise of air-conditioned work environments 😂
This decision exposed her to the emerging world of the internet.
🏋️♀️ Exclusive military training
The Army provided Dana with a 12-month intensive computer science program, covering everything from networking to coding. This served as her foundation in tech, equivalent to a degree in computer science.
👑 DevOps and leadership transition
After leaving the military, Dana's career took off, as she moved into roles focused on DevOps and enabling developers.
Her journey led her through various companies, including FinTech firms, New Relic, and eventually to leadership positions at GitHub and Netlify.
2) 👨💼 The evolution of engineering leadership (10:06)
We discussed Dana’s journey from individual contributor to leadership roles, and how the landscape is changing for engineering management:
