Eric Johnson on engineering management

About Eric Johnson

In a September 2021 AMA, Eric Johnson, then serving as Chief Technology Officer at GitLab, discussed the company's engineering priorities and his personal background. He stated that the manage team was "working almost exclusively on tightening up security," resulting in limited velocity in other planning features. Johnson expressed interest in GitLab using more of its own planning tools internally, including portfolio management and a long-term Gantt chart. He also noted that back-end engineers were focused on availability work, while front-end staff, UX, and product managers were addressing UI components, UX debt, and competitive analysis. Johnson, who holds a philosophy degree, remarked that liberal arts backgrounds are over-represented in Silicon Valley engineering management and that tech companies remain entrepreneurial, allowing people to get jobs based on ability rather than credentials. He discussed GitLab's engineering mentorship program aimed at bringing tech jobs to sub-Saharan Africa. On a personal note, Johnson said he was a "really anxious kid" who burned out trying to be perfect, and that learning to step back and recognize that "things aren't a disaster" was a learned behavior. He also mentioned that having young children had paused his hobbyist programming, but he hoped to refresh his technical skills, potentially learning Rust, as his children grow older.

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