Tackling Tech Culture and Interviewing: Insights from Ted Neward

In this episode of "How Many CTOs Does It Take?" podcast, hosts Scott Porad and Brad Hefta-Gaub welcome special guest Ted Neward, a senior distinguished engineer at Capital One, joins the hosts to discuss the challenges and intricacies of engineering leadership and technology culture. Ted shares his diverse experiences, from his previous roles at Rocket Mortgage and Smartsheet to his current position. The discussion delves into the often overlooked aspects of job descriptions, interview processes, and the importance of measurable and actionable performance expectations. Ted also reflects on the use of coding projects in interviews, the role of AI tools in programming, and the necessity of training interviewers to avoid unconscious bias. This episode provides valuable insights into creating effective and inclusive engineering cultures.

• 00:00 Introduction and Guest Welcome
• 00:34 Ted's Professional Journey
• 01:27 Exploring Esoteric Programming Languages
• 03:11 Tech Culture at Rocket Mortgage
• 04:16 Challenges in Job Descriptions and Interviewing
• 08:02 The Importance of Leveling Guidelines
• 11:36 Defining Good Code
• 19:02 Interview Process and Structural Guidance
• 25:53 Interview Training and Culture Challenges
• 27:09 Unintended Consequences of Filtering
• 27:59 Systems Thinking in Hiring
• 30:21 Bias and the Interview Process
• 31:28 Sample Coding Projects in Interviews
• 35:44 AI in the Hiring Process
• 43:29 The Philosophy of Interviewing
• 47:50 Concluding Thoughts and Reflections
• 49:50 Outro and Credits

Resources:

• How Many CTOs Pod: https://howmanyctospod.com
• Scott Porad: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottporad/
• Brad Hefta-Gaub: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradheftagaub/
• Ted Neward: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tedneward/

#podcast #technology #leadership #ctos #technicaldebt #management #leadership #problemsolvingtechniques #problemsolvingstrategies #engineering #entrepreneurship #engineeringmanagement #hiring #engineeringtalent