Distributed.26 Jun 2025

Principal Engineer at Salesforce on collaborative programming with James Simone

On this episode of the Distributed podcast, host Jack Hannah talks with James Simone, Principal Engineer at Salesforce, about how he went from no development experience to principal engineer in 7 years at a Fortune 500 and the effects of collaborative programming.

James shares what things are like inside the agile org at Salesforce and how they approach remote work, including how they prioritize reflection and team agreements to foster productive and happy work environments.

Highlights:

James's journey to principal engineer
The role of reflection in boosting productivity and happiness
Salesforce's approach to ensemble and pair programming

In this episode, we cover:

(00:00) – Kicking things off with James Simone

(01:09) – The empowerment of distributed teams: fostering community and learning

(03:08) – Inside Salesforce's agile organization: a structural overview

(04:17) – Legacy projects and measuring developer happiness

(06:07) – Applying metrics: individual and executive perspectives

(08:52) – Collaborative programming: a measured approach

(11:03) – Starting the week: Monday morning routines

(12:56) – Code review: transitioning from author to reviewer

(14:26) – The role of working agreements in team dynamics

(17:05) – Reflection and improvement: the impact of test-driven development

(22:36) – Documentation and decision-making in collaborative teams

(27:48) – Balancing career growth with personal life passions

References

Test Driven Development: By Example by Kent Beck

Domain Modeling Made Function by Scott Wlaschin

Where to connect further:

Connect with James Simone on LinkedIn and on his website

Follow Tuple

Want to hear more? Check out distributed.fm

Connect with Jack Hannah

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