How a First Reddit Engineer Builds Strong Engineering Cultures with Jeremy Edberg
In this episode of the Leadership Exchange, host Tracy Lee welcomes Jeremy Edberg, CEO of DeVos and former first employee at Reddit, to discuss leadership, engineering culture, and team building. They review Jeremy's career journey from Reddit to Netflix and beyond, sharing insights on scaling engineering teams, the impact of culture on development practices, and hiring strategies. Jeremy reflects on the evolution of his management style, emphasizing the importance of human connection in leadership, while also sharing lessons learned from his time at companies with strong engineering cultures.
Chapters
00:00 - Introduction and Guest Welcome
00:48 - Jeremy’s Background and Career Journey
01:51 - Introduction to DeVos and Its Founders
02:30 - Throwback: Reddit Meetups and "Chad Berg" Chanting
03:05 - Rebuilding the Reddit Engineering Team
05:16 - Challenges of Scaling and Maintaining Reddit's Culture
07:08 - The Role of Code in Driving Team Culture
08:14 - Differences in Team Dynamics at Reddit and Netflix
09:07 - Working at Netflix vs. Cloudflare
09:38 - The "Sports Team, Not a Family" Philosophy at Netflix
11:21 - Understanding the Keeper Test at Netflix
14:27 - Evolving Netflix's Culture to Support Diversity and Inclusion
16:05 - Misconceptions About Netflix's Work Environment
17:17 - Work-Life Balance at Netflix: High Performance in a Chill Setting
20:28 - Key Elements of a Good Engineering Culture
23:09 - How Jeremy's Leadership Style Has Evolved
24:34 - Advice for Building Successful Engineering Teams
25:26 - Closing Remarks and Sponsor Thanks
26:13 - Where to Follow Jeremy Online
Follow Jeremy Edberg
Twitter: https://x.com/jedberg
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jedberg/
Sponsored by Wix Studio: wix.com/studio...