AI Is Changing Software Engineering Forever | Gregor Ojstersek

What happens to software engineers when AI can write most of the code? In this episode of the Data Engineering Central Podcast, I sit down with Gregor Ojstersek, former CTO, author of The Multiplier Mindset (O’Reilly), and creator of the Engineering Leadership Newsletter, which recently surpassed 200,000 subscribers. We dive into the changing world of software engineering, why technical skills alone aren’t enough anymore, and what it takes to become a successful engineer and engineering leader in the age of AI. Gregor shares his journey from self-taught programmer to CTO, how he built one of the largest engineering leadership newsletters, and why the most valuable engineers of the future won’t necessarily be the ones writing the most code. Thanks for reading Data Engineering Central! This post is public so feel free to share it. Topics we cover: * How Gregor went from self-taught developer to CTO without a computer science degree * Why AI is changing the skills engineers need to succeed * The future of junior, senior, staff, and principal engineering roles * Whether engineering management is becoming a harder career path * Why generalists and problem-solvers are becoming increasingly valuable * The danger of AI-generated code, poor engineering practices, and losing fundamental skills * The ideas behind Gregor’s new O’Reilly book, The Multiplier Mindset * How Gregor grew his Engineering Leadership Newsletter to over 200,000 subscribers * Why slowing down and building the right things matters more than ever Chapters 00:00 – The Multiplier Mindset01:00 – Gregor’s background and journey into engineering08:00 – Learning engineering fundamentals before AI11:00 – From software engineer to engineering leader17:00 – Why technical skills alone aren’t enough20:00 – AI, layoffs, and the future of engineering jobs27:00 – The Multiplier Mindset and writing a book with O’Reilly32:00 – Growing a newsletter to 200,000 subscribers36:00 – Junior, senior, staff, and principal engineers in the AI era41:00 – The changing path to CTO44:00 – AI-generated code and engineering quality49:00 – Why writing code was never the real bottleneck52:00 – Final advice for engineers Find Gregor: Engineering Leadership Newsletter: Book: The Multiplier Mindset by Gregor Ojstersek (O’Reilly) Thanks for reading Data Engineering Central! This post is public so feel free to share it. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dataengineeringcentral.substack.com/subscribe