The Confident Commit

In this episode, Rob explores the fascinating crossroads of machine learning and software engineering with Gideon Mendels, the co-founder and CEO of Comet ML.  Gideon navigates the often ambiguous world of training ML models, focusing on building a common language between software engineers and data science teams. Gain valuable insights into fostering mutual understanding between these two discipl...

In this episode, dive deep into the world of AI-enabled products and the push to explore and integrate them at CircleCI. Rob is joined by Aakar Shroff, CircleCI’s VP of product. Aakar shares valuable insights into AI product development and how AI tools can be leveraged to streamline software delivery processes. Rob and Aakar explore the fast-evolving AI landscape, including the convergence of dif...

Michael Webster, principal engineer at CircleCI, talks to Rob about testing AI-enabled applications. In this episode, learn how to face the unique challenges posed by the probabilistic and non-deterministic nature of AI output, as well as the importance of subjective evaluation criteria.  Webster covers how model graded evals can be used to test AI applications, and the importance of caution in us...

In this episode, you’ll learn how to empower your team to do the most challenging thing when it comes to AI - getting started!  Rob is joined by Kira Muehlbauer and Ryan Hamilton, two engineers who worked on building a groundbreaking feature at CircleCI called the AI error summarizer. Discover their insights into the process of building AI products, the challenges they faced, and the valuable less...

In this finale episode, Rob Zuber explores what he has learned from the season on what makes teams great. Rob recaps how to achieve people-centered scaling and debates whether revolutions in software delivery exist.  Plus, get to know Rob better as he recalls his favorite team of all time, not including his current team at CircleCI.  Listen through the end to look ahead to what’s in store for seas...

What can successful ad hoc jazz groups teach us about trust, personal preparedness, and leadership dynamics? In this special episode Rob is joined by jazz guitarist, Jeff Massanari, to explore the similarities between high-functioning jazz groups and software teams. Through Jeff’s stories and insights, you’ll learn valuable lessons from the world of jazz that can help you quickly adapt to new team...

How do we keep up with this rapidly changing AI revolution? Steve Yegge, Head of Engineering at Sourcegraph joins Rob to discuss all things generative AI. Rob and Steve discuss the “innovator’s dilemma” and the concerns around jobs and productivity. Have a guest you’d like to hear on the podcast, let us know on Twitter  @circleci_sandbox !

In this episode, Rob sits down with the DevOps “party starter” himself, Jesse Robbins, to discuss the current state of software delivery. Is DevOps really dead, or are we simply witnessing a maturing model as organizations grow and evolve? Tune it to hear Jesse’s valuable take on where he sees the industry moving and the potential complexities on the horizon. Download the 2023 State of Software De...

Joe Duffy, co-founder and CEO of Pulumi, joins Rob in this episode to discuss how we can become architects of culture in our environment. What is psychological safety and how can your team achieve it? How can psychological safety, blameless culture, and accountability create a self-reinforcing “triad” within an organization? Tune in to hear Joe take accountability on his own teams to bring clarity...

In this episode, Matt DeBergalis gives us an inside look into what it took to scale Apollo GraphQL with teams in mind. From hiring new members to equipping and empowering current ones, tune in to hear Matt share valuable perspectives on how to build great teams, both culturally and structurally through the different stages of an organization. Have a guest you’d like to hear on the podcast? Reach o...

Raji Subramanian sits down with Rob to talk about her experience being on several world-class teams. At Amazon, Pro.com , and OpenDoor, Raji has a developed a deep understanding of what it takes to build a culture that is customer-centric, operates with a startup mentality, and acts from ownership. In this episode, Raji shares what she’s learned and how she thinks about hiring for culture and buil...

To kick off season 3, Rob is joined by DevOps enthusiast and Wall Street Journal best-selling author, Gene Kim. Gene has spent years researching and documenting the evolution of DevOps. In this episode, hear Gene conceptualize high-performing teams using a group of painters and movers. What can this model show us about the intricacies and challenges all teams face? Tune in today! Have a topic you’...

In the finale episode of season 2, our podcast producer Julia McClellan turns the tables on Rob to see what he's really learned from interviewing 18 top tech leaders in 2022. Rob reflects on how to grow, communicate, and change our ways from experiencing failure. Tune in today to hear Rob share his most catastrophic failure and catch a special preview to season 3.  Have a topic you want us to...

How do you not take failure personally, but instead use it as a tool for growth? Shailesh Kumar, SVP of Engineering at ClickUp, sits down with Rob to share his experiences being a part of numerous organizations on the brink of major growth. As head of engineering, Shailesh has had to manage his teams through difficult circumstances like platform stability challenges with a healthy dose of trial an...

What reliability factors does Turo have to consider when it comes to transportation and real-world objects? Avinash Gangadharan, CTO of Turo, joins Rob to discuss the complexities involved in managing software for a car sharing marketplace. He shares valuable strategies and mindsets Turo has adopted to become the leader of their industry. You’ll learn how using your own product can give meaningful...

We all love a good “aha moment” story, where an innovative product comes by a moment of brilliance. But most successful ventures involve a continuous journey of testing to see if something works.  Justin Bauer, Chief Product Officer at Amplitude Analytics, joins Rob and shares valuable insights on how we can lean into experimentation and put the “aha moments” in their proper place. Have a topic yo...

Is it possible that the new tech and clever ideas can get in the way of adding value to our business? Bryan Finster, Distinguished Engineer at Defense Unicorn, sits down with Rob and shares how his perspective on solving business problems with code. Learn valuable insights on how we can keep the end user in mind while using technology to make their lives better. Have a topic you'd like us to...

In this episode, Rob is joined by Optimizely CTO, Aniel Sud, to discuss the importance of experimenting for growth.  Entrepreneurship and innovation require courage, but having courage can bring on emotions that make it difficult for us to experiment objectively. How do we hold our strong opinions loosely to press forward with new information? Have a topic you want us to discuss? Reach out to us o...

How do you restructure your team, language, and practices so that your team can grow from failure? Lisa Gelobter, CEO of tEQuitable sits down with Rob to share her mission: helping companies create culture that works, for everyone. In this episode, Lisa explains how learning to shift perspective on failure allows you to create a company culture based on collaboration, not competition. Have a topic...

In this episode, Rob is joined by Thomas Hazel, founder and CTO of ChaosSearch. Every software company has tons of data to manage. Have we set ourselves up for failure? How do we recover from a data mess? Learn how Thomas embraces chaos to tackle big data problems by taking risks and embracing failure. Have a topic you want us to discuss? Reach out to us on Twitter at @CircleCI !

Chainguard co-founder, Kim Lewandowski joins Rob to discuss the ways she presses forward in the fear-driven world of software supply chain security. In any kind of mistake or failure, security breaches have to be something that we can learn from.  On the other hand, particularly during investigation, there are often walls of trust and other factors affecting fully transparent communication. Does t...

This season we've been talking about dealing with failure, so we decided to bring in an expert to explain how she communicates about failure. Rob sits down with CircleCI's VP of corporate communications, Emma Webb to dive deep on: Learning from a failed startup journey How to communicate failure inside and outside your organization What they've learned from communication failures du...

How should leaders be showing up during failure? Rob sits down with TaxBit CTO, Tramale Turner to dive deep on embracing failure. In this episode, learn how to integrate failure as part of your company culture, when to ask pertinent questions, and how to not make the same mistake twice. Have a topic you want us to discuss? Someone you want us to interview? Reach out to us on Twitter @CircleCI !

Rob sits down with Justin Reock to discuss developer productivity engineering (DPE).  Get answers to valuable questions like,  Why should you focus on DPE? How can you find the bottlenecks in flow?  Where is the productivity gap most commonly found?  How can you increase throughput and decrease cost on your team?  Tune in today and if there's something you want to hear discussed on a future e...

Nearly every project can benefit from improvements, but which effort has the most impact? Rob sits down with Rollbar CPO Cyrus Radfar to discuss how to reframe your mindset on failure, knowing and operating from your top-level goal, and making failures a vital part of company culture.