In this conversation, Martin Pengelly-Phillips, the VP of Engineering at Zen Educate, shares his journey from the film industry to product engineering. He discusses the importance of a product mindset, collaboration within teams, and the role of mentorship in shaping engineering practices.
Martin emphasizes the need for engineers to be problem shapers rather than just ticket takers, and he highlights the impact of AI tools in enhancing communication and efficiency. The conversation also covers practical steps for implementing product engineering practices and the challenges of scaling these approaches as a company grows.___Martin started his career building bespoke software for the film industry, where he learned full-stack depth, breadth, and product thinking in small, scrappy teams and once colour graded parts of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix despite being colour-blind.He went on to scale himself at Intercom, growing from leading one team to an org of 50 people responsible for $120M ARR, and later delivered mission-critical healthtech software at Birdie.These days he works from home in rural Ireland with his wife, two boys, and their neurotic dog — living proof that distributed working really can work.
Connect with Martin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/martinpp/ ___
Chapters
00:00 Introduction to the Product Engineers Community Podcast
00:46 Martin’s Journey in Software Development
03:49 Transitioning to Product Engineering Mindset
07:40 The Role of Mentorship in Engineering
11:50 Collaboration and Team Dynamics in Product Engineering
17:48 Zen Educate’s Culture: Problem Shapers vs. Ticket Takers
22:40 Measuring Collaboration and Team Effectiveness
25:46 Team Structure and Weekly Workflow at Zen Educate
28:46 The Role of Engineers in Technical Planning
29:42 Collaboration in Product Engineering
30:45 The Concept of Product Builders
31:48 Defining Product Engineers
32:48 Managing Handoffs Between Teams
33:33 The Impact of AI on Workflows
35:48 Evolving Responsibilities of Product Managers
38:40 Scaling Collaborative Approaches
42:45 Challenges in Implementing New Processes
46:43 Maintaining Culture as Companies Grow
50:46 Practical Steps for Implementation
___👉 Join the Product Engineers community to meet those who don’t want to stay in their lane.💬 Discord: https://discord.gg/nhdUZ5CG8Q🌍 All the links: https://productengineers.community
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In this episode we discussed an article from Marty Cagan: The Era Of The Product Creator
Vibe Talking is the series from the Product Engineers podcast, where we discuss interesting articles/posts/videos we find on the web every week.
We have only one rule: having fun.
Product Engineers is the community for the ones who won’t stay in their lane.
Join the revolution!
Discord Server: https://discord.gg/nhdUZ5CG8QWebsite: https://productengineers.community
Today we discuss this post from Michele Sollecito: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/michelesollecito_what-if-we-reframed-our-approach-to-persistent-activity-7368204152088309760-KLnv
Vibe Talking is the series from the Product Engineers podcast, where we discuss interesting articles/posts/videos we find on the web every week.
We have only one rule: having fun.
Product Engineers is the community for the ones who won’t stay in their lane.
Join the revolution!
Discord Server: https://discord.gg/nhdUZ5CG8QLinkedIn Page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/product-engineersYouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@product.engineers
What's happening in the designers' world in the age of AI?
Vibe designing? AI wiping out designers from Earth? Engineers acting like Steve Jobs? Well, we don't know... That's why we'll be interviewing Tom Varpins, a seasoned product designer who will keep us company for the next Product Engineers Meetup.
We'll be waiting for you.
And if you don't join... well. You won't be able to disagree with our guest live. But at least, you'll be able to watch it later. Your call!
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Toms Vārpiņš is a product designer with 12 years of experience turning complex ideas into impactful products. He’s worked on everything from fintech systems to AI-powered health tools and e-commerce growth. With a mix of tech and communication skills, Toms loves solving tricky problems, running workshops, and learning about everything from design and engineering to economics, philosophy, and music.
Toms’ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/toms-varpins
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https://productengineers.community
Today’s post: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/elenaverna_this-1000-this-at-lovable-we-shortcut-activity-7357095943877369856-_mIm
Vibe Talking is the series from the Product Engineers podcast, where we discuss interesting articles/posts/videos we find on the web every week.
We have only one rule: having fun.
Product Engineers is the community for the ones who won’t stay in their lane.
Join the revolution!
Discord Server: https://discord.gg/nhdUZ5CG8QContent Hub on Substack: https://productengineers.substack.com/LinkedIn Page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/product-engineersYouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@product.engineers
