How Senior Engineers Balance Speed and Quality (Scale-Up Lessons)

The difference between a junior and a senior engineer isn't coding speed, it's knowing when to say "no."

"The best code you can write is the code you don't write." In this episode, I sit down with Alessandro Mautone (Senior Software Engineer at Aquablu, ex-WeTransfer) to discuss the reality of engineering at a scale-up: how do you maintain technical excellence when the business demands speed?

We break down why delivering features "fast" pays your salary, but how to negotiate deadlines so you don't drown in technical debt later. If you want to move from writing code to owning product decisions, this conversation is for you.

In this episode, we cover:

- How to push back on features and negotiate deadlines without upsetting stakeholders

- Why chasing "perfect code" can hurt a company in growth mode

- The Generalist vs. Specialist career path: Which one is right for you?

- The potential pitfalls of using AI for unit tests without proper oversight

Timestamps:

00:00:00 - Intro

00:01:06 - Balancing Technical Excellence With Delivery Speed

00:04:11 - Why Delivering Features Pays Your Salary

00:06:51 - The Importance of Ownership and "Skin in the Game"

00:08:59 - Leaving WeTransfer: When Company Direction Shifts

00:11:49 - The Generalist vs. Specialist Career Path Debate

00:16:46 - How to Attract Top Engineering Talent to Your Team

00:18:50 - Is LeetCode the Right Way to Hire for Scale-Ups?

00:23:16 - Learning to "Say No" is a Sign of Seniority

00:25:17 - Negotiating Scope Without Burning Bridges

00:26:02 - When AI Generates Bad Unit Tests

00:28:14 - Never Compromise on Tests, Even in "Code Red"

00:33:59 - Communicating Technical Concepts to Non-Tech Stakeholders

00:35:35 - The Never-Ending Battle Against Complexity

00:37:26 - When to Build for the Future vs. Ship Now

00:42:30 - A Real-World Example of Refactoring for Simplicity

00:46:48 - The Skill That Will Be Make or Break for Engineers

#SoftwareEngineering #ScaleUp #TechnicalDebt