The Product Engineers Podcast

Peppe Silletti

Product Engineers is the podcast about the convergence of product and engineering in the AI era: what's breaking, what's working, and the craft of doing both well. https://productengineers.com

  1. Episode 1

    Why "Just Coding" Isn't Enough Anymore | Meikel Ratz (PostHog’s product engineer)

    Meikel Ratz is a product engineer at PostHog, where he leads the messaging team. In this episode, we unpack the product thinking behind that role and what it takes to become a product-minded engineer: understanding customers, making product decisions, thinking about revenue, and deciding what to build instead of simply working through tickets. In our conversation, we discuss: 1. Why solving problems, not writing code, has always been the real job of software engineers2. “Snacking work”: the small, satisfying tasks that consume time without creating much impact3. How PostHog gives engineers ownership over customers, product decisions, reliability, and revenue4. How engineers can develop product and business sense, even if they’ve spent their career being handed tickets5. Why data should drive product decisions, when gut feeling is still useful, and how AI changes the economics of experimentation Episode transcript: https://productengineers.com/episodes/season2/why-just-coding-isnt-enough-anymore/ Where to find Meikel Ratz:• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meikelratz/ Where to find Peppe:• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peppesilletti/• X: https://x.com/peppesilletti• Website: https://peppesilletti.io Where to find The Product Engineers Podcast:• Website: https://productengineers.com In this episode, we cover:(01:29) What is the role of a software engineer in the AI era?(07:09) Snacking work, hard problems, and engineering impact(14:01) Product engineers, product managers, and company culture(23:21) What it means to be a product-minded engineer(29:31) How to develop business and product sense(34:13) Start with users, then business, pricing, and product vision(39:03) How PostHog uses data to make product decisions(43:02) Data, gut feeling, and experimenting cheaply with AI(44:50) What to do when engineers are just handed tickets(48:53) Where to find Meikel Referenced:• PostHog: https://posthog.com

    Why "Just Coding" Isn't Enough Anymore | Meikel Ratz (PostHog’s product engineer)

  2. Episode 2

    How to become a product-minded engineer | Drew Hoskins (Author of The Product Minded Engineer book)

    Drew Hoskins is the author of The Product-Minded Engineer and has spent more than 20 years building products and platforms at Microsoft, Meta, Stripe, and Temporal. His work and writing focus on helping engineers develop a product mindset by understanding their users, deciding what’s worth building, and turning technical expertise into better products. In our conversation, we discuss: 1. Why great code can fail to win adoption, and how product thinking helps engineers increase their impact2. How to learn from users through support records, sales calls, GitHub issues, and product metrics3. How user scenarios reveal “plot holes,” guide prioritisation, and become tests that reflect real usage4. What Drew learned as a PM at Temporal, and how tools help make product-minded habits last5. Why AI may create software generalists, how to review AI-generated tests, and practical exercises to start tomorrow Episode transcript: https://productengineers.com/episodes/season2/how-to-become-a-product-minded-engineer-in-the-ai-era Where to find Drew Hoskins:• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drewhoskins2/• Substack: https://drewhoskins.substack.com/ Where to find Peppe:• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peppesilletti/• X: https://x.com/peppesilletti• Website: https://peppesilletti.io Where to find The Product Engineers Podcast:• Website: https://productengineers.com In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Introduction and what product-minded engineering means(05:39) Developer experience, adoption, and engineering career impact(10:47) Getting closer to users through conversations and data(15:25) User scenarios, plot holes, and meaningful tests(22:01) Lessons from Temporal and building a product-minded culture(28:21) AI coding, reviewing tests, and the software generalist(33:57) Collaboration, daily habits, and exercises to get started Referenced:• The Product-Minded Engineer: https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/the-product-minded-engineer/9781098173722/

    How to become a product-minded engineer | Drew Hoskins (Author of The Product Minded Engineer book)

  3. Episode 3

    How Engineers Get Better at UX Design | Jon Yablonski (Mixpanel’s product designer)

    Jon Yablonski is a senior product designer at Mixpanel and the author of Laws of UX. In this episode, we explore how software engineers can get better at UX design through observation, practice, and collaboration, starting with the products they already use and love. In our conversation, we discuss: ✦ Why engineers may already have more design skills than they realise ✦ How to train your design eye by studying products you use and love ✦ How engineering decisions shift complexity between your code and your users ✦ When familiar interface patterns help, and where novelty makes sense ✦ How Jon uses AI for prototypes while working through design ideas with pen and paper Episode transcript: [ADD EPISODE URL] Where to find Jon Yablonski:• Website: https://jonyablonski.com/• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jon-yablonski-b4269115/ Where to find Peppe:• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peppesilletti/• X: https://x.com/peppesilletti• Website: https://peppesilletti.io Where to find The Product Engineers Podcast:• Website: https://productengineers.com In this episode, we cover: (00:00) Introduction: what UX design really means(07:01) Why engineers aren’t “bad at design”(10:22) Bridging design and engineering(17:45) How to train your design eye(20:16) Laws of UX: complexity and trade-offs(27:29) Familiar patterns and when to break them(31:57) Designing better AI experiences(37:37) Using AI without outsourcing your thinking(41:49) Figma, AI prototypes, and design systems(47:31) Design is a skill you can practice Referenced:• Laws of UX: https://jonyablonski.com/work/laws-of-ux/• Laws of UX, 2nd Edition: https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/laws-of-ux/9781098146955/• Tesler’s Law• Jakob’s Law• Figma• Claude Code• Storybook

    How Engineers Get Better at UX Design | Jon Yablonski (Mixpanel’s product designer)

  4. Episode 4

    How to Interview Users Like a Pro (Even If You're an Engineer) | Sara Iacozza, Senior UX Researcher

    Everyone tells engineers to talk to users. But what should you ask, and how do you turn the answers into better product decisions? Sara Iacozza is a Senior UX Researcher and Product Strategist with 7+ years of experience helping teams understand user behaviour and decide what to build. In our conversation, we discuss: 1. How understanding users helps engineers make trade-offs and find simpler solutions2. How to practise user interviews with colleagues, an AI coach, and a researcher’s feedback3. How to avoid leading questions, use plain language, and ask about real experiences4. How to turn interview notes into shared insights and check AI analysis against the evidence5. How to get closer to users by shadowing interviews, watching recordings, and talking to colleagues Episode transcript:  Where to find Sara Iacozza:• LinkedIn: https://it.linkedin.com/in/sara-iacozza/ Where to find Peppe:• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peppesilletti/• X: https://x.com/peppesilletti• Website: https://peppesilletti.io Where to find The Product Engineers Podcast:• Website: https://productengineers.com In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Introduction and what UX research involves(06:35) Why user research matters for engineers(12:33) Learning to interview users, with practice and AI(24:19) Avoiding leading questions and polite answers(28:39) Using language your users understand(33:08) Turning conversations into insights and checking AI analysis(42:00) Making research part of the team’s work(45:20) Getting closer to users when access is limited(51:35) Where to find Sara Referenced:• Sara’s User Interview Coach (announcement and access link): https://www.linkedin.com/posts/sara-iacozza_chatgpt-user-interview-coach-activity-7296141061372993536-pWZQ• Continuous Discovery Habits by Teresa Torres: https://www.producttalk.org/continuous-discovery-habits/

    How to Interview Users Like a Pro (Even If You're an Engineer) | Sara Iacozza, Senior UX Researcher

  5. Episode 5

    Why Hardcore Technical Focus Still Matters Big Time | Uncle Bob (Clean Code, Clean Architecture)

    Robert C. Martin, also known as Uncle Bob, joins The Product Engineers Podcast to discuss why technical expertise still matters when AI writes the code. The author of Clean Code and Clean Architecture explains how those principles help engineers steer AI coding agents towards better software. We get into Robert's use of static analysis, complexity and coverage metrics, dependency checks and mutation testing. He shares how he stays technically involved while reading less code, and why understanding customers is essential to choosing the right technical constraints. In our conversation, we discuss: 1. Why clean code and clean architecture still matter when AI writes the code2. How static analysis and dependency checks help steer agents towards better software3. How Robert combines acceptance tests, QA tests and mutation testing to check AI-written code4. How engineers can stay technically in control without reading every line of code5. Why understanding customers leads to better technical decisions Episode transcript: https://productengineers.com/episodes/season2/why-hardcore-technical-focus-still-matters-big-time Where to find Robert C. Martin:• X: https://x.com/unclebobmartin• Website: https://cleancoder.com/• Videos: https://cleancoders.com/ Where to find Peppe:• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peppesilletti/• X: https://x.com/peppesilletti• Website: https://peppesilletti.io Where to find The Product Engineers Podcast:• Website: https://productengineers.com In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Why technical expertise still matters with AI(05:27) Agile, customer contact and organisational change(08:39) Learning from customers without losing technical depth(13:19) Connecting technical requirements to customer needs(18:00) Clean code, static analysis and quality metrics for agents(23:48) Enforcing architecture and checking behaviour with tests(28:26) TDD, reading less code and staying technically in control(34:27) Where deep specialists matter and who can build with AI(40:30) Where to find Robert Referenced:• Clean Code: https://www.informit.com/store/clean-code-a-handbook-of-agile-software-craftsmanship-9780135398579• Clean Architecture: https://www.informit.com/store/clean-architecture-a-craftsmans-guide-to-software-structure-9780134494166• Agile Manifesto: https://agilemanifesto.org/• CRAP4J: the complexity-and-coverage metric discussed in the episode• Gherkin: the acceptance-test language used in Robert's workflow

    Why Hardcore Technical Focus Still Matters Big Time | Uncle Bob (Clean Code, Clean Architecture)

  6. Episode 6

    How Engineers Can Develop Business Sense | Arnon Cavaeiro (Product Leader)

    What does business sense for engineers look like in practice? Arnon Cavaeiro joins me to talk about product engineering, product discovery and choosing which customer problems to solve. We get into revenue, costs and product strategy, and how understanding them helps you decide what to build next. The conversation moves from discovery to delivery, with practical questions engineers can bring to their next project. Why can a feature go unused even when a customer requested it? What is the smallest experiment that would test your riskiest assumption? Arnon shares how to use early signals before revenue catches up, make the business case for technical debt, and navigate the growing overlap between engineering and product management. In our conversation, we discuss: 1. Why understanding revenue and costs changes what engineers choose to build2. How to judge customer problems by reach, pain and relative priority3. Why customer requests need small experiments and clear product positioning4. How leading metrics help you change direction before revenue catches up5. How to connect technical debt and engineering decisions to business outcomes Where to find Arnon Cavaeiro:• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/acavaeiro/ Where to find Peppe:• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peppesilletti/• X: https://x.com/peppesilletti• Website: https://peppesilletti.io Where to find The Product Engineers Podcast:• Website: https://productengineers.com In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Introduction(03:23) Why engineers need to understand the business(07:15) Choosing problems worth solving(09:56) Small experiments and risky assumptions(13:16) Unused features, customer requests and positioning(16:57) Building as thinking, prototypes and taste(26:05) Outcomes, experiments and leading metrics(35:33) Making the business case for technical debt(41:40) Who owns product decisions?(47:08) Closing thoughts and where to find Arnon Referenced:• Taste Labs: https://tastelabs.com/ • Linear: https://linear.app/

    How Engineers Can Develop Business Sense | Arnon Cavaeiro (Product Leader)
  • 6 Episodes

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Product Engineers is the podcast about the convergence of product and engineering in the AI era: what's breaking, what's working, and the craft of doing both well. https://productengineers.com

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