Ryan Peterman
@ryanlpeterman.bsky.social
Staff engineer @instagram • Writing about software engineering and career growth • Join 90k+ engineers who read my newsletter @ developing.dev
Using AI in subjective domains (e.g. content, design) only gets you ~90% of the way there. Still need a person with high taste to get real quality
Using AI in objectively verifiable domains (e.g. code, data formatting) makes it much easier to get high-quality results
Using AI in objectively verifiable domains (e.g. code, data formatting) makes it much easier to get high-quality results
June 23, 2025 at 3:37 PM
Using AI in subjective domains (e.g. content, design) only gets you ~90% of the way there. Still need a person with high taste to get real quality
Using AI in objectively verifiable domains (e.g. code, data formatting) makes it much easier to get high-quality results
Using AI in objectively verifiable domains (e.g. code, data formatting) makes it much easier to get high-quality results
If your writing is too wordy, no one will read it. If no one reads it, less value in writing it
If you can remove a word but preserve meaning, then remove it
If you can remove a word but preserve meaning, then remove it
June 6, 2025 at 6:16 PM
If your writing is too wordy, no one will read it. If no one reads it, less value in writing it
If you can remove a word but preserve meaning, then remove it
If you can remove a word but preserve meaning, then remove it
Broke 10k subs on YouTube 🎉🎉
Thanks for all the support! It's been a lot of fun making these podcast videos and trying to improve the quality for the community
If you have any suggestions for future guests or the podcast in general I'm always open to feedback!
Thanks for all the support! It's been a lot of fun making these podcast videos and trying to improve the quality for the community
If you have any suggestions for future guests or the podcast in general I'm always open to feedback!
June 5, 2025 at 3:00 PM
Broke 10k subs on YouTube 🎉🎉
Thanks for all the support! It's been a lot of fun making these podcast videos and trying to improve the quality for the community
If you have any suggestions for future guests or the podcast in general I'm always open to feedback!
Thanks for all the support! It's been a lot of fun making these podcast videos and trying to improve the quality for the community
If you have any suggestions for future guests or the podcast in general I'm always open to feedback!
Principal Eng (IC8) from Meta interview footage is edited and ready for posting, will drop it tomorrow. We discussed:
• his promos from IC6 -> IC8
• why he accepts diffs that will break prod
• his notetaking system in vscode
Any guesses on who it is? 👀
• his promos from IC6 -> IC8
• why he accepts diffs that will break prod
• his notetaking system in vscode
Any guesses on who it is? 👀
May 30, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Principal Eng (IC8) from Meta interview footage is edited and ready for posting, will drop it tomorrow. We discussed:
• his promos from IC6 -> IC8
• why he accepts diffs that will break prod
• his notetaking system in vscode
Any guesses on who it is? 👀
• his promos from IC6 -> IC8
• why he accepts diffs that will break prod
• his notetaking system in vscode
Any guesses on who it is? 👀
Living in nyc is so much fun, but I think I'm spending ~2x what I was in sf if not more... combination of:
• More to do that I want to pay for
• Wanting to enjoy the moment more since being young in NYC feels temporary
• Things just being more expensive
Worth it though
• More to do that I want to pay for
• Wanting to enjoy the moment more since being young in NYC feels temporary
• Things just being more expensive
Worth it though
May 30, 2025 at 2:37 PM
Living in nyc is so much fun, but I think I'm spending ~2x what I was in sf if not more... combination of:
• More to do that I want to pay for
• Wanting to enjoy the moment more since being young in NYC feels temporary
• Things just being more expensive
Worth it though
• More to do that I want to pay for
• Wanting to enjoy the moment more since being young in NYC feels temporary
• Things just being more expensive
Worth it though
"New grad hiring drops 50% compared to pre-pandemic levels", I doubt that this is fully due to AI tooling automating routine tasks though
Any ideas on the real reason behind this?
Chart below is from "The SignalFire State of Talent Report - 2025":
Any ideas on the real reason behind this?
Chart below is from "The SignalFire State of Talent Report - 2025":
May 29, 2025 at 3:30 PM
"New grad hiring drops 50% compared to pre-pandemic levels", I doubt that this is fully due to AI tooling automating routine tasks though
Any ideas on the real reason behind this?
Chart below is from "The SignalFire State of Talent Report - 2025":
Any ideas on the real reason behind this?
Chart below is from "The SignalFire State of Talent Report - 2025":
Interview with the Distinguished eng (IC9) ex-Meta, ex-OpenAI is ready! One of my favorite conversations so far, super excited to share with you all
Such interesting advice and stories about Zuck/John Carmack. Will drop the episode here tomorrow morning, follow if interested
Such interesting advice and stories about Zuck/John Carmack. Will drop the episode here tomorrow morning, follow if interested
May 22, 2025 at 3:22 PM
Interview with the Distinguished eng (IC9) ex-Meta, ex-OpenAI is ready! One of my favorite conversations so far, super excited to share with you all
Such interesting advice and stories about Zuck/John Carmack. Will drop the episode here tomorrow morning, follow if interested
Such interesting advice and stories about Zuck/John Carmack. Will drop the episode here tomorrow morning, follow if interested
New ergo office chair experiment, trying to find something better for my posture than the Herman Miller Aeron chair
May 21, 2025 at 9:57 PM
New ergo office chair experiment, trying to find something better for my posture than the Herman Miller Aeron chair
Just interviewed an Principal Eng (IC8) from Meta, another one in the editing pipeline. We discussed:
• his promos at Meta from IC6 -> IC8
• his notetaking system
• IC8 impact working 40 hours a week
If interested, follow and I'll post about it here when it's ready
• his promos at Meta from IC6 -> IC8
• his notetaking system
• IC8 impact working 40 hours a week
If interested, follow and I'll post about it here when it's ready
May 8, 2025 at 2:58 PM
Just interviewed an Principal Eng (IC8) from Meta, another one in the editing pipeline. We discussed:
• his promos at Meta from IC6 -> IC8
• his notetaking system
• IC8 impact working 40 hours a week
If interested, follow and I'll post about it here when it's ready
• his promos at Meta from IC6 -> IC8
• his notetaking system
• IC8 impact working 40 hours a week
If interested, follow and I'll post about it here when it's ready
Just interviewed a Distinguished eng (IC9) ex-Meta, ex-OpenAI for the pod. One of my favorite conversations so far, super excited to share with you all
Such interesting advice and stories about Zuck/John Carmack. Will polish it up and launch it in a bit
Such interesting advice and stories about Zuck/John Carmack. Will polish it up and launch it in a bit
May 6, 2025 at 3:41 PM
Just interviewed a Distinguished eng (IC9) ex-Meta, ex-OpenAI for the pod. One of my favorite conversations so far, super excited to share with you all
Such interesting advice and stories about Zuck/John Carmack. Will polish it up and launch it in a bit
Such interesting advice and stories about Zuck/John Carmack. Will polish it up and launch it in a bit
"How to get a return offer from FAANG internships" clip just went viral on my IG (~100k views, 907 shares, 1.7k saves)
I've had 5 interns at Meta, here's the gist on what a strong internship performance looks like:
I've had 5 interns at Meta, here's the gist on what a strong internship performance looks like:
May 5, 2025 at 3:14 PM
"How to get a return offer from FAANG internships" clip just went viral on my IG (~100k views, 907 shares, 1.7k saves)
I've had 5 interns at Meta, here's the gist on what a strong internship performance looks like:
I've had 5 interns at Meta, here's the gist on what a strong internship performance looks like:
Little known fact that I'm building a hardware side project. Was thinking through the Trump tariffs with my cofounder
We don't really have any other options aside from China. They do it faster and cheaper (even with the increased cost from tariffs)
We don't really have any other options aside from China. They do it faster and cheaper (even with the increased cost from tariffs)
April 8, 2025 at 2:46 PM
Little known fact that I'm building a hardware side project. Was thinking through the Trump tariffs with my cofounder
We don't really have any other options aside from China. They do it faster and cheaper (even with the increased cost from tariffs)
We don't really have any other options aside from China. They do it faster and cheaper (even with the increased cost from tariffs)
Who is your favorite writer in tech/software engineering?
Looking for more quality examples to learn from
Looking for more quality examples to learn from
April 7, 2025 at 3:29 PM
Who is your favorite writer in tech/software engineering?
Looking for more quality examples to learn from
Looking for more quality examples to learn from
Did a talk at UCLA about "industry secrets I wish I knew before graduating college" for UPE & ACM clubs
If you're curious what we talked about, drop a reply and I'll share the recording link when it's ready:
If you're curious what we talked about, drop a reply and I'll share the recording link when it's ready:
March 13, 2025 at 3:30 PM
Did a talk at UCLA about "industry secrets I wish I knew before graduating college" for UPE & ACM clubs
If you're curious what we talked about, drop a reply and I'll share the recording link when it's ready:
If you're curious what we talked about, drop a reply and I'll share the recording link when it's ready:
Anthropic CEO: "In 3-6 months, AI is writing 90% of the code. And then in 12 months we may be in a world where AI is writing essentially all of the code"
This scares junior engineers but not senior+ engineers. Here's why:
This scares junior engineers but not senior+ engineers. Here's why:
March 12, 2025 at 3:51 PM
Anthropic CEO: "In 3-6 months, AI is writing 90% of the code. And then in 12 months we may be in a world where AI is writing essentially all of the code"
This scares junior engineers but not senior+ engineers. Here's why:
This scares junior engineers but not senior+ engineers. Here's why:
Biggest reason software engineers fail to get to Staff, through examples:
1. Give updates no one cares about
2. Present in meetings and everyone tunes out
3. Share opportunities that don't resonate
The fix for this problem:
1. Give updates no one cares about
2. Present in meetings and everyone tunes out
3. Share opportunities that don't resonate
The fix for this problem:
March 11, 2025 at 4:52 PM
Biggest reason software engineers fail to get to Staff, through examples:
1. Give updates no one cares about
2. Present in meetings and everyone tunes out
3. Share opportunities that don't resonate
The fix for this problem:
1. Give updates no one cares about
2. Present in meetings and everyone tunes out
3. Share opportunities that don't resonate
The fix for this problem:
Why keeping a "work diary" is helpful for software engineers:
Writing down what you do, useful commands/info, and ongoing investigations expands your memory. This is critical in software engineering since there's so much to remember.
Here are a 4 use cases for this diary:
Writing down what you do, useful commands/info, and ongoing investigations expands your memory. This is critical in software engineering since there's so much to remember.
Here are a 4 use cases for this diary:
March 10, 2025 at 3:43 PM
Why keeping a "work diary" is helpful for software engineers:
Writing down what you do, useful commands/info, and ongoing investigations expands your memory. This is critical in software engineering since there's so much to remember.
Here are a 4 use cases for this diary:
Writing down what you do, useful commands/info, and ongoing investigations expands your memory. This is critical in software engineering since there's so much to remember.
Here are a 4 use cases for this diary:
High agency is when:
• Initiative - You're proactive rather than reactive
• Control - You believe you can influence & control outcomes
• Autonomy - You set direction based on your judgement
Agency is easier to understand through examples, here are 9 for software engineers:
• Initiative - You're proactive rather than reactive
• Control - You believe you can influence & control outcomes
• Autonomy - You set direction based on your judgement
Agency is easier to understand through examples, here are 9 for software engineers:
March 5, 2025 at 5:34 PM
High agency is when:
• Initiative - You're proactive rather than reactive
• Control - You believe you can influence & control outcomes
• Autonomy - You set direction based on your judgement
Agency is easier to understand through examples, here are 9 for software engineers:
• Initiative - You're proactive rather than reactive
• Control - You believe you can influence & control outcomes
• Autonomy - You set direction based on your judgement
Agency is easier to understand through examples, here are 9 for software engineers:
Learning from experience is slow. Much faster to learn from other's stories
Here are 3 career stories from Staff+ engineers at Meta, Airbnb and Amazon that you can learn from to save you time:
Here are 3 career stories from Staff+ engineers at Meta, Airbnb and Amazon that you can learn from to save you time:
March 4, 2025 at 3:49 PM
Learning from experience is slow. Much faster to learn from other's stories
Here are 3 career stories from Staff+ engineers at Meta, Airbnb and Amazon that you can learn from to save you time:
Here are 3 career stories from Staff+ engineers at Meta, Airbnb and Amazon that you can learn from to save you time:
Every engineer will eventually decide to become a people manager or stay an individual contributor (IC).
Neither path is objectively better than the other.
I compiled all my notes from senior managers and ICs I chatted with when considering the switch myself. Some takeaways:
Neither path is objectively better than the other.
I compiled all my notes from senior managers and ICs I chatted with when considering the switch myself. Some takeaways:
March 3, 2025 at 4:40 PM
Every engineer will eventually decide to become a people manager or stay an individual contributor (IC).
Neither path is objectively better than the other.
I compiled all my notes from senior managers and ICs I chatted with when considering the switch myself. Some takeaways:
Neither path is objectively better than the other.
I compiled all my notes from senior managers and ICs I chatted with when considering the switch myself. Some takeaways:
If you agree that 10x engineers exist (they do, trust me) we'll soon see them become 100x or even 1000x engineers
AI assisted tooling will give them more leverage which is a multiplier for their exceptional judgement
AI assisted tooling will give them more leverage which is a multiplier for their exceptional judgement
February 27, 2025 at 4:30 PM
If you agree that 10x engineers exist (they do, trust me) we'll soon see them become 100x or even 1000x engineers
AI assisted tooling will give them more leverage which is a multiplier for their exceptional judgement
AI assisted tooling will give them more leverage which is a multiplier for their exceptional judgement
"New jr developers can't actually code" because of LLMs is overblown:
• LLMs make it easier to learn (interactive prompting/questioning) if you want
• Today, you don't need to think much anyway (if you want to copy-paste from existing examples/Google, you can)
For jr devs:
• LLMs make it easier to learn (interactive prompting/questioning) if you want
• Today, you don't need to think much anyway (if you want to copy-paste from existing examples/Google, you can)
For jr devs:
February 25, 2025 at 3:45 PM
"New jr developers can't actually code" because of LLMs is overblown:
• LLMs make it easier to learn (interactive prompting/questioning) if you want
• Today, you don't need to think much anyway (if you want to copy-paste from existing examples/Google, you can)
For jr devs:
• LLMs make it easier to learn (interactive prompting/questioning) if you want
• Today, you don't need to think much anyway (if you want to copy-paste from existing examples/Google, you can)
For jr devs:
The longer you work as a software engineer, the more you realize that writing code is rarely the hard part.
Cursor / AI makes this even more obvious.
Cursor / AI makes this even more obvious.
February 23, 2025 at 11:43 PM
The longer you work as a software engineer, the more you realize that writing code is rarely the hard part.
Cursor / AI makes this even more obvious.
Cursor / AI makes this even more obvious.
TIL: Cuckoo hashing
• "collisionless" hash tables
• O(1) worst case lookup + deletion
• O(1) amortized insertions
Idea is pretty simple + interesting:
• "collisionless" hash tables
• O(1) worst case lookup + deletion
• O(1) amortized insertions
Idea is pretty simple + interesting:
February 21, 2025 at 5:12 PM
TIL: Cuckoo hashing
• "collisionless" hash tables
• O(1) worst case lookup + deletion
• O(1) amortized insertions
Idea is pretty simple + interesting:
• "collisionless" hash tables
• O(1) worst case lookup + deletion
• O(1) amortized insertions
Idea is pretty simple + interesting:
Why I hate wasting engineering time in meetings:
February 20, 2025 at 3:46 PM
Why I hate wasting engineering time in meetings: