E. Edgeworth

Anthropic released another paper on their ongoing work towards interpretability of large foundational models like their Claude 3 family, built on previous work by many. Their work continues to be enlightening and inspiring. The findings in this work are generally similar to previous findings on smaller models but scaled up to Claude 3 Sonnet: 💡 they find large numbers of "features" corresponding to combinations of neuron activations and these features map to concepts that we recognize/understand: for example, features for transit infrastructure, particular people, concepts (like bias and "objects lacking sentience"). This might sound familiar from classical machine learning, but the interesting thing is that there is no single thing/neuron encoding each of these concepts, it's a particular combination of neuron activations that embeds these concepts in "superposition" in the network. 💡they observe a sort of "distance" of these feature activations that arrange themselves "near" semantically similar features. When they use their sparse autoencoder approach to learn more and more features they observe that the level of abstraction in the detected features becomes more granular, in ways that are interpretable and meaningful. 💡when they artificially fire these activation patterns during inference, it affects the output in ways that relate to the "feature". For example, asking Claude "what's the most interesting science" normally it responds Physics, but if you clamp the feature activations for the feature "Brain Science" to 10x their max values then Claude responds: Neuroscience. Ways to interpret _and_ influence the model. Great readable work [1] along with an interactive explorer of some of the "features" themselves [2] 🎂 There's an easter egg too: if you scroll in the feature explorer tool and try and select one of the "Randomly selected features from 1M" you get a message "if you want to see the rest of the features, we're hiring!" with a link to their recruiting page :) [1] https://lnkd.in/gZbparwp [2] https://lnkd.in/gC9eus53

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Do you think you need to hire developers as w2 employees to build a highly-skilled, devoted and culturally aligned team? Let Blueprint show you otherwise. Here's how we're changing the game: 1️⃣ Unmatched Quality: Quality is our creed. Our vetting process includes interviewing with former CTOs and senior software engineers, ensuring only top-tier talent makes it to your team. 2️⃣ Long-Term Commitment: Forget the turnover and churn worries! Our developers stay longer than industry norms for W2 developers (average tenure of 2.2 years), providing stability and continued expertise to your projects. 3️⃣ Cultural Integration: Culture isn't just an add-on for us. We dive deep to understand your core values and ensure every developer we match with your team enhances and embraces your company culture. 4️⃣ Equity is Optional: Save your cap table for your growing startup! We ensure that our developers are passionate believers in your product right from the start - without incentivizing them with equity. We rigorously test for craftsmanship, ensuring they value not just a quality end result but also the journey of creation. 🌟 Shoot us a DM to connect and see how we can improve your staffing strategy. #StaffAugmentation #InnovationInStaffing #TechTalent #CultureFit #LongTermGrowth

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Project update! My application tracking extension is now doing fuzzier matching and injecting new information into LinkedIn (and other sites) to keep me from doubling up on applications. Next up: local storage and bulk import/export operations...

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It's hard to choose the right code reviewers. I just read the research paper below, detailing persistent gender inequities in who reviews code. In short: examining code reviews at Google over one three month period, the authors found that women were sent about 25% fewer reviews than men. The number is closer to 16% when accounting for factors like whether the person is actively writing code or whether they kept their job for the entire period. Even shorter: Coders send women fewer code reviews than they send to men. In my experience, this is only one part of a general problem with assigning code reviewers. As a team lead, I typically wanted code reviewers to be assigned so that: 1) The code ends up getting a good review. Reviewing is a skill, and some people are better at it than others. A good review has to be gracious, provide both positive and constructive feedback, and have a reasonable turnaround time. You also want thoughtful - ideally diverse - ideas and feedback. 2) More than one person on the team understands the code. You need this so that code can be maintained when one person is unavailable. 3) The code reviews are evenly distributed through the team. The good reviewers are often in high demand. But they can get bogged down with too many reviews. And you don't get to be a good reviewer unless you get some practice first. Like I said, that's what I wanted. In reality, these goals can be hard to reconcile. If you have one person writing a subsystem, and you really want someone else on the team who understands that subsystem, then you often have to pick a single person to do all of the reviews. That makes it hard to distribute reviews evenly. If you have someone who is a relatively new hire, and you absolutely need the best review possible, you may not give that hire a lot of reviews. That makes even distribution hard. And that's not even counting the stresses of having to worry about this while you juggle product deadlines and complicated personalities! As a result, teams tend to fall into very bad review assignment habits. There's the TL who is overwhelmed because they try to do everyone's code reviews. There's the expert who has a week-long turnaround time, but you *absolutely* need their review. There's that one developer who needs to be reminded every single day that they have pending code reviews. The article suggests automated reviewer selection tools that apply round-robin strategies can help deal with bias problems. They absolutely can - but those strategies just can't account for the human aspects of the review. My take is that code review is a bit like bug assignment - you need to assign reviewers for project code as thoughtfully as you assign the project itself. It's not something that can completely be done by a given developer in a vacuum - but it's also not a problem that a tool can solve by itself. https://lnkd.in/gTDxAhpG

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🌶🌶🌶 Hot take… Old problem: if we put more devs on the project, we can deliver it sooner. Same thinking, new manifestation: we can hire more overseas devs for less total money to produce the same result as our US staff. Flaw in that thinking: product development is not an assembly line. Devs are not “interchangeable”. Software is as much an art as it is science. It’s a team sport. The people on your team matters. #tech #staffing #management #hiring #jobs #layoffs #software #startup #teamleadership

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I was recently asked what’s the single most important trait that sets apart good leaders? My answer - providing air cover. In other words, delegating thoughtfully. Too many times I see leaders simply adding stuff to the plates of their directs without helping take something off. Passing down asks from the top with no filtration or sense of priority whatsoever. As a leader you have a broader view of the landscape than your team. Use it. Resist the instinct to simply push things down as opaque directives. For instance, something like “Hey this just cropped up. Looks urgent. Can you take care of it?” simply suggests ‘something’ has to be done. But the recipient has no idea why it’s urgent, what the impact is and what is needed of them. Instead “Hey this just cropped up and seems to be affecting customers. I’d like an update on the number of customers impacted so we can better prioritize.” gives them the context they need and makes it clear what you need from them. Not all situations present itself with context, especially in fast paced environments. But it’s key to be transparent, by acknowledging lack of context and actually following up when more info becomes available. “This is a developing situation and there isn’t a lot of context. Until we have more, treat this as top priority. I’ll follow up when we have more.” - goes a long way in fostering a vested interest and a sense of partnership. Without air cover, your team may self organize to a point. But sooner than later they will stop seeing things as a challenge and start feeling jaded. Instead, go that little extra mile, and you will greatly increase the chances of better outcomes, and preserve your teams’ sanity.

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Isn’t it funny that 60% of engineering managers see a shortage of qualified candidates while 56% plan to increase headcount? The math is not mathin’. 🧮 Maybe it’s time to rethink what makes a “good engineer”. Skills are evolving with AI and machine learning, and our criteria needs to evolve too. The “passion engineer” coding all night is rare now, and that’s okay — maybe even better — because we can introduce more diverse skill sets, experiences, and problem-solving. Let’s evaluate our talent definitions, invest in training, and embrace diverse paths of excellence. ✨ For more insights like these, check out Jellyfish's 2024 State of Engineering Management report: https://lnkd.in/eKAJ5jZy

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⛔️ Fear of failure will destroy your career before it starts. Most people quit. Maybe they get overwhelmed by the research and differing opinions. Maybe close friends say its too hard, or give examples of why they will fail. If you assume failure and are around people that encourage a negative viewpoint, it'll be a lot harder for you to make progress. But what if you succeed? What if it does work out? I know for me, I spend a lot of time thinking about the "what if it works" scenario. I used to be an office assistant. 👉🏾 I'm a firm believer that consistency and work ethic will breed consistent results. Maybe things won't work as fast as you'd like, but it will work. 👉🏾 Don't fail because you chose to fail. Surround yourself with doers. The rewards are worth the struggle. #mentormesh

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"Your main job is to make your product win." I think this should apply to any product that your company makes. I also like what he says following this statement about what is NOT your main job. I will summarize here: "Your main job is not to make your manager happy, it is not to make execs happy." Also, note, this main job doesn't only apply to PMs, but also to senior Engineering Managers, Tech Leads, and Designers. #makeyourproductwin #leadership

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Crystalloids (a Data focused partner that I have known for many years) took our Application Integration Partner training. They immediately started building integrations based own needs - for instance processing job applications and progressing through hiring a candidate, which touches many systems. This was a perfect way to build expertise and also create new customer-facing demos. Four Weeks Later (!!!) they came to the Cloud Summit with a detailed demo connecting Jira, Hubspot, BigQuery, DocAI and more. They even built a Custom Connectors for Exact Software, a popular Benelux accounting software - to me, this highlights how Partners can help adapt our product to meet the local market needs. The were kind enough to write an article that shows the speed and ease of Application Integration, the real use case they built, and gives great technical detail on how to build a Custom Connector: https://lnkd.in/evWGSHmb #applicationintegration #apigee #googlecloud cc Scott Haaland MadhuVandhini B Jean Dulau Madelon Privé Tessa Reef

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For years, I've led and mentored diverse teams of software engineers, and one gripe consistently surfaces, irrespective of team makeup or project nuances: "Why do I have to resolve conflicts when cherry-picking commits from the master branch?" 🤔 This complaint hits home. Engineers crave independence to innovate and deliver swiftly, yet software development thrives on collaboration, demanding robust code management and teamwork. 🚀💻 Cherry-picking commits can be an efficient way to incorporate specific changes or bug fixes into a hotfix branch or release candidate, but it often triggers conflicts as changes collide with ongoing developments. This conflict resolution process can be time-consuming, error-prone, and frustrating for engineers, detracting from their productivity and morale. 😫⚔️ The absence of a structured cherry-picking process exacerbates the problem. Here's a simple fix to avoid conflicts: 1️⃣ Track the last merged PR number into the base branch when cutting release/hotfix branches. 2️⃣ When receiving a cherry-pick PR, confirm its base branch PR number. 3️⃣ Ensure all PRs between the last merged and new ones are cherry-picked before merging, preventing conflicts. 4️⃣ Once merged, update the base PR number of the last merged cherry-pick for the next cherry-pick PR review can be verified. Yes, adopting this process entails a bit of change, but the dividends in smoother workflows and happier engineers are well worth it. Let's make life easier for our fellow coders! 💪🛠️ #SoftwareEngineering #CodeReview #Collaboration #ConflictResolution #Teamwork #DeveloperLife #CherryPicking #CodeManagement #ProductivityTips #EngineeringCulture #TechTips #Mentorship #WorkflowOptimization #CodingCommunity

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A lead engineer once asked me, “What makes you want to come into work each day? I can’t imagine why anyone would want to be a manager. It seems like a thankless role.” I answered it with a question: “You lead a backend team that’s four systems away from the customer. At best, the customer isn’t going to notice a thing. At worst, their experience sucks. It seems thankless too, yet you tap-dance into work. Why?” That got the conversation going. He replied “For me it’s the prospect of working with some of the smartest people around. And making our systems that little bit better each day for our customers. It doesn’t matter if the customers don’t know it, but we know the impact we make.” I said “Exactly. Most of the time, its who you collaborate with, that brings the intangible motivation toward your work goals. The overt optics don’t really matter. What matters is: are your rudders aligned toward a mission that excites you, and are your colleagues and leaders the people you want by your side on that journey.” I continued, “It is the reason I obsess over two core things - the people we hire (driving culture), and the roadmap we craft (driving mission). It is the reason I waltz into work each day.” What does it look like in practice? On the people front, staff your best, diverse, and experienced people in your interview loops. They’re your partners to hire the right talent. Be transparent about the kind of talent you’re looking for in the team. Invest time in ongoing coaching, as well as building coaches in your team. Even the best hires need good guides for ongoing success and to force multiply that success. On the mission front, foster relationships with teams you work with, and your customers (or customer facing teams). Keep a pulse on what matters for the customer and the business. Empower your team members to do that as well. Discuss these insights with your team on an ongoing basis. And when it comes to building your roadmap, leverage your team and your network to balance ideas for the business as well as your team. I go into more detail on the mission-front in this post https://lnkd.in/geSPQUyB There are many more factors that come into play while managing high performance teams. But get the people and the mission aspects right, and your team’s rudders will be set on a course toward long-term success.

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Jr. Devs, Looking at my TODO list for work this morning I found myself paralyzed. There was a lot to get done and many different priorities that I could place on each item based on availability, needs of clients, resources, etc. So… I just ordered them alphabetically and started working on them. Perfect? No. Moving forward? Yes! I know the amount of learning you face can be daunting. It’s often hard to know where to start or where to go next. Sometimes you just need to DO. Especially right now when getting hired may be somewhat out of the question for many of you due to the current market, analyzing the “best way” may keep you from moving forward at all. Find something that interests you and just start doing it. You never know what doors or new ideas or directions it might open up. #juniordeveloper #mentoring #do

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How do you work through feeling overwhelmed with projects, both at work and at home? My project list is never ending. I have multiple major work areas, a house with a sheet of improvement projects that keeps growing, half a dozen trips planned into next year, and a wife and two daughters with lists of their own. It's easy to not know where to start or what to do next. And then before you know it you've burned an entire day playing sudoku. Many years ago I learned the art of Getting Things Done. I even wrote an article on it for USENIX Association's ;login: Magazine just as the world came screeching to a halt in early 2020, and talked about it on The Hedge Podcast (episode 88). There is a lot of structure to GTD, but I can boil it down to having a trusted list of all the next actions I need to do. One that is reviewed regularly and captures thoughts as I have them. All of it - work, home, family - gets treated the same way in one place. I've been out of practice and I've recently rekindled my system. This is one of the ways I'm addressing feeling adrift. I can always find something to do that will move me forwards, as well as give me that dopamine hit of crossing a task off my list. And if I'm avoiding one it's probably because I didn't break the next action down to a small enough chunk. The most important part of practicing GTD (and other organizational systems) is that it clears my head. The human brain isn't really great at maintaining lists. The only real method it has for doing this is to constantly go over the list, which keeps the pathways in the brain fresh. That takes mental capacity, whether you realize it or not, and it adds to your stress. Plus, half the time you don't even have the list in mind or complete when it needs to be. You think about the dead batteries in the flashlight when the power goes out at home, not when you're standing in Home Depot wondering what else you need to get.

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I’ve been doing a ton of interviewing lately, and I’ve come to remember how much I appreciate it as a time to meet colleagues that I genuinely want to work with in some capacity: even if I don’t recommend we hire them. While this industry is huge, the professional circles we end up running in per domain are small worlds. Everyone I meet is a chance to make professional connections with people that turns into a chance to work together in the future—be it collaboration on a paper, peer-reviews of each others’ work, a customer using my products, or a coworker on my team. I love hearing about the work people are proud of and what they’ve built. So, I’ve started closing my interviews with “Thank you for taking the time to tell me about your work and passions, I am inspired, and I really hope we get to work together in the future.” I hire for my company, but the interview? It’s more than my job; it’s part of my career and professional network, and I genuinely look forward to making the connection. I’ve rarely met someone that didn’t inspire me, and I’m grateful I get paid to do it. Humans that build things are amazing, and you don’t have to look very hard to see it if you just slow down and see the spectacularly complex and gifted human sitting across the table from you. I hate that we’ve created this environment where people are so anxious coming in the door because we attach so much of our self worth to getting the “hire” nod from the team. It can be so much more than this. There’s an abundance of what we can all learn from each other, and the competitive nature of it does not serve the interests or well-being of builders, or even the long-term interests of the companies to which we belong.

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Let’s get real. In the tech world, we love our rockstar engineers and visionary product managers. But what about the unsung heroes who make sure the trains run on time? Enter: Technical Program Managers (TPMs). Here’s the deal—TPMs are the connective tissue in any tech org. Without them, your next big thing is just a pipe dream. Here’s why they matter: 1. Master Planners: TPMs are the strategists who see the big picture. They map out the journey from idea to execution, ensuring every cog in the machine is working towards the endgame. 2. Diplomatic Leaders: These folks are the UN of tech. TPMs navigate cross-functional teams, aligning everyone from engineering to product, and making sure egos don’t derail progress. 3. Execution Powerhouses: Think of them as project ninjas. TPMs oversee the whole process, managing timelines, resources, and risks. They get sh*t done. 4. Tech Savvy: A TPM isn’t just a project manager with a fancy title. They understand the tech stack and can speak geek. This lets them make smart decisions and steer the ship effectively. 5. Communication Gurus: Ever been left in the dark on a project? Not with a good TPM. They keep stakeholders in the loop, ensuring transparency and trust all the way. 6. Risk Avengers: TPMs spot risks from a mile away and crush them before they become a problem. It’s like having a crystal ball and a wrecking ball in one. 7. Efficiency Experts: These pros are all about optimizing. They refine processes and drive continuous improvement, making sure your team isn’t just working hard, but smart. Bottom line: TPMs are the unsung heroes who turn chaos into order and dreams into reality. Next time you see a project succeed, know there’s probably a badass TPM behind the curtain making it all happen. To all the TPMs out there: You’re the backbone of innovation. Keep rocking.

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Familiarity Levels at Work, and Meeting Scheduling Novice: You are surprised by their calendar blocks Journeyman: You already schedule around their blocks Expert: You know why those blocks exist and when they are negotiable Elite: Already synced over chat

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“Developer health first” ... I pitched in a board meeting. “I don’t know, Gabe. We’re not a wellness company”, leadership told me. If you don’t know me: I’m a recovering workaholic and dealt with an illness called CIRS for years. I was heavily invested in the developer community and they donated $22k for my treatment. I then realized that beyond being a tech talent marketplace, our passion at G2i is Developer Health. You see, putting the developer first has real benefits. For tech workers AND clients. My story about my health isn’t unique. Thousands of developers deal with burnout, stress, and health issues. People produce their best work and sustain it for longer when their mental and physical health is protected. It actually makes a lot of sense to prioritize health. In his book “Good to Great”, Jim Collins writes about how every company needs a “hedgehog concept”: The one thing they can do better than anyone else. Developer Health was our hedgehog concept. We hired Michelle Bakels, our first key hire for Developer Health. She had her own experiences in burnout. We hosted dozens of convos with the Developer Health Twitter Spaces, launched the Developer Health Show, wrote the Developer Health OS, and more. We grew G2i’s team, recruiting more developers who wanted to avoid burnout and wanted a healthier work environment. We’ve served 100s of developers and companies over the years. And we keep expanding. Developer health first... It’s not just a passion. It’s vital for our employees, our clients, and ultimately developer success. --- PS. If you are a developer and want to talk about dev health, hit me up and I'll gladly answer your questions.

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