How AI Is Changing Engineering Teams and Hiring

What happens to engineering teams when everyone can code? Bali Raghavan, cofounder and CTO at Hero Safety, joins Amir Bormand to discuss how AI is changing team structures, engineering skills, and hiring. At Hero Safety, designers, product managers, and operations teams are using AI to build and solve problems that once required engineering support. That shift changes what companies need from engineers. Bali explains why systems thinking, architecture, judgment, and problem solving are becoming more valuable. He also shares why he now expects engineering candidates to use AI during interviews. The conversation explores where specialized expertise remains essential, including computer vision and edge AI, and how public safety organizations are approaching AI adoption with both interest and skepticism. Key Takeaways AI is expanding who can build software across a company. Engineering judgment and architecture matter more as code generation becomes easier. Coding interviews should reflect how engineers actually use AI at work. Specialized skills remain essential for complex AI systems and edge computing. Episode Highlights 02:15 | Why Bali considers his entire company an engineering team 04:00 | How AI changes the value of programming skills 08:30 | Judgment, first principles, and evaluating AI output 11:45 | Why using AI is now expected in engineering interviews 14:25 | Generalists, specialists, and the need for edge AI expertise 16:15 | AI adoption, privacy, and skepticism in public safety One Line That Stuck "The bug has become a feature." Bali explains how AI use went from something employers tried to prevent in interviews to something they now want to evaluate. Follow The Tech Trek for more conversations about engineering leadership, AI, and building technology companies.