In this episode of ScaleUp Sound Bytes, Sam sits down with Xharmagne Carandang, founding engineer at Lorikeet, one of Australia's hottest startups, and someone who is quietly redefining what it means to build great tech with purpose.

From working in federal government to startups barely past MVP, Xharmagne has intentionally gone from big to small, chasing learning, ownership, and impact at every step. We talk about what changes when you scale down, why engineers should care about the why behind what they build, and how Lorikeet is bringing clarity, trust, and empathy to AI in customer service.

We dive into:

💡 Moving from “feature factory” coding to mission-driven product thinking

💡 Why clear context beats company size when it comes to making an impact

💡 How Lorikeet is helping teams train AI to sound human, and when AI should just butt out

💡 Designing UX for AI when the rules don’t exist yet

💡 The drop-off of women in engineering and how visibility, community, and role models matter

💡 Why engineers should act more like collaborators and less like keyboard monkeys

💡 Her favourite framework: thinking in bets (and how to avoid betting the house)

💡 Building sustainably, with dance classes as a burnout barometer

Xharmagne brings a sharp mind and an open heart to her work, and this episode is packed with insights for anyone navigating engineering culture, ethical AI, or what it actually means to build software that helps people.

#ScaleUp #SoundBytes #WomenInTech #AI #FoundingEngineer