Episode Details

We tackle the trend toward engineering efficiency with Alamelu Radhakrishnan, Head of Engineering Operations @ Shopify. She reveals strategies to move your eng org toward greater efficiency while maintaining high levels of impact & creativity. We also share how eng leaders can identify opportunities for efficiency, giving engineering a seat at the leadership table during efficiency-focused conversations, frameworks for removing toil within your eng team, how to avoid burnout while optimizing for efficiency, and the role of decision-making in maximizing efficient eng orgs.

ABOUT ALAMELU RADHAKRISHNAN

Alamelu leads Engineering Operations at Shopify, leading the teams responsible for building the systems and technical programs that power Shopify RnD. Her mandate is to maximize the impact of engineers on Shopify’s Missions, and her role spans across team health, engineering craft excellence, strategic planning and prioritization, and successful business operations within RnD.

Prior to Shopify, Alamelu has worked with some of Canada’s most innovative product and consulting agencies, leading software delivery teams and helping organizations leverage technology across a variety of industries.

Alamelu finds joy in solving business problems through technology, strives for organizational excellence, and is passionate about supporting and sponsoring underrepresented folks in the industry. Alamelu lives in Toronto, and loves food, travel, the outdoors, and horror movies.

"The thing that I've been telling my team is that this is not a time to get through. This is a time to lean in. Let's not treat it as, 'Oh my God, you focus on efficiency. Let's just do it, and then it'll be done. It'll be back to the fun times.' These are the fun times. They're just fun in a different way, but these constraints are making us even more creative, and these challenges are going to lead to us doing some of the best work of our lives. That's the exciting thing, and so I think the way through the fear is actually into excitement."

- Alamelu Radhakrishnan   

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SHOW NOTES:

• How Alamelu’s role @ Shopify is like an extension of eng leadership (2:52)
• Working yourself out of a job & identifying blind spots in the eng org (5:23)
• Alamelu’s approach to building a new system from scratch (7:00)
• Prioritization strategies when developing new systems (10:34)
• Inside the industry trend toward optimizing for efficiency vs. experimentation (11:45)
• Recommendations for how managers can find opportunities / make adjustments (14:10)
• Frameworks for helping your eng team overcome fear & embrace creativity (16:50)
• How to communicate the impact of engineering on the business (19:44)
• Ensure engineering has a seat at the table during efficiency conversations (21:37)
• The value of ad hoc vs. planned meeting