Podcast: The Pragmatic Engineer (LS 39 · TOP 2% what is this?)
Episode: Linear: move fast with little process (with first engineering manager Sabin Roman)
Pub date: 2024-11-20
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On today’s episode of The Pragmatic Engineer, I’m joined by fellow Uber alum, Sabin Roman, now the first Engineering Manager at Linear. Linear, known for its powerful project and issue-tracking system, streamlines workflows throughout the product development process.
In our conversation today, Sabin and I compare building projects at Linear versus our experiences at Uber. He shares insights into Linear’s unique approaches, including:
• How Linear handles internal communications
• The “goalie” program to address customer concerns and Linear’s zero bug policy
• How Linear keeps teams connected despite working entirely remotely
• An in-depth, step-by-step walkthrough of a project at Linear
• Linear’s focus on quality and creativity over fash shipping
• Titles at Linear, Sabin’s learnings from Uber, and much more!
Timestamps
(00:00) Intro
(01:41) Sabin’s background
(02:45) Why Linear rarely uses e-mail internally
(07:32) An overview of Linear's company profile
(08:03) Linear’s tech stack
(08:20) How Linear operated without product people
(09:40) How Linear stays close to customers
(11:27) The shortcomings of Support Engineers at Uber and why Linear’s “goalies” work better
(16:35) Focusing on bugs vs. new features
(18:55) Linear’s hiring process
(21:57) An overview of a typical call with a hiring manager at Linear
(24:13) The pros and cons of Linear’s remote work culture
(29:30) The challenge of managing teams remotely
(31:44) A step-by-step walkthrough of how Sabin built a project at Linear
(45:47) Why Linear’s unique working process works
(49:57) The Helix project at Uber and differences in operations working at a large company
(57:47) How senior engineers operate at Linear vs. at a large company
(1:01:30) Why Linear has no levels for engineers
(1:07:13) Less experienced engineers at Linear
(1:08:56) Sabin’s big learnings from Uber
(1:09:47) Rapid fire round
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The Pragmatic Engineer deepdives relevant for this episode:
• The story of Linear, as told by its CTO
• An update on Linear, after their $35M fundraise
• Software engineers leading projects
• Netflix’s historic introduction of levels for software engineers
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Where to find Sabin Roman:
• X: https://x.com/sabin_roman
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sabinroman/
Where to find Gergely:
• Newsletter: https://www.pragmaticengineer.com/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/mrgergelyorosz
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gergelyorosz/
• X: https://x.com/GergelyOrosz
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References and Transcripts:
See the transcript and other references from the episode at https://newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com/podcast
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