#223 - The Software Engineer Identity Crisis in the AI-Driven Future

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Tech Lead Journal

Henry Suryawirawan

255 episodes

1 week ago

Great technical leadership requires more than just great coding skills. It requires a variety of other skills that are not well-defined, and they are not something that we can fully learn in any school or book. Hear from experienced technical leaders sharing their journey and philosophy for building great technical teams and achieving technical excellence. Find out what makes them great and how to apply those lessons to your work and team.

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#223 - The Software Engineer Identity Crisis in the AI-Driven Future - Annie Vella

Tech Lead Journal

1 hour 7 minutes 13 seconds

6 months ago

#223 - The Software Engineer Identity Crisis in the AI-Driven Future - Annie Vella

Is AI taking over the craft of coding? Many engineers now face an identity crisis.

In the episode, Distinguished Engineer Annie Vella discusses her research on AI’s impact on software development. She explores the “software engineering identity crisis” as the craft of coding becomes automated. Annie warns that the seductive speed of AI tools can lead to lower quality and delivery stability, a trend supported by reports from DORA and GitClear. She also cautions that over-reliance on AI prevents engineers from gaining the hands-on experience needed for deep skill acquisition.

Key topics discussed:

How AI is reshaping the software development lifecycle
The software engineer’s professional identity crisis
The real dangers of over-relying on AI tools
How to balance the seduction of speed with long-term quality
Crucial advice for junior engineers entering the industry
Why leaders must shift focus from speed to quality
The idea of treating AI as team member instead of just a tool

Timestamps:

(00:00:00) Trailer & Intro
(00:02:32) AI Impact on Career and Software Engineering
(00:07:00) The Future of AI-Driven Software Engineering
(00:14:29) The Shift in the Role of Software Engineer
(00:22:13) When Writing Code is Not the Bottleneck Anymore
(00:32:04) The Danger of Over-Reliance on AI
(00:38:51) The Software Engineering Identity Crisis
(00:48:09) Advice for Junior Engineers in This Challenging Time
(00:53:34) The Shift in the Role of Engineering Management
(00:59:46) You Are Not Alone
(01:00:50) 3 Tech Lead Wisdom

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Annie Vella’s Bio
Annie Vella is a Distinguished Engineer at Westpac NZ with two decades of experience in software engineering and technical leadership across various industries and countries.

Vella has returned to an engineering role after a period in management and is also a part-time Master’s student at the University of Auckland, researching the impact of AI on software engineering. She believes that technologies like Generative AI, LLMs, and Agentic AI will revolutionize the field and problem-solving in general.

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