The End of Specialization? How AI Shapes Modern Dev Teams | Vercel’s Lee Robinson
Why product engineers are becoming the new norm
Is front-end vs. back-end an antiquated way to structure engineering teams? With AI augmenting skills, a new model is emerging: the product engineer.
This week, Andrew sits down with Lee Robinson, VP of Product at Vercel to crack open the future of the web. As a respected educator and voice in the webdev community (check out his YouTube!), Lee shares his unique perspective on building both cutting-edge tools and high-performing teams.
As the VP of Product, Lee charts the evolution of developer roles and illustrates for us the rise of "product engineers" who own features end-to-end. Learn how AI tools are not just augmenting specialists but enabling designers, PMs, and founders to build "personal software." We also cover changing team dynamics and get Lee's advice on navigating the hiring process in the AI era, including: why personalization is key for candidates, how managers can spot authenticity (hint: AI-generated cover letters are obvious!), and why building in public is critical for career growth today.
"A product engineer doesn't necessarily think about the front-end or back-end split. They think about everything that it takes to ship a feature and deliver customer value end-to-end. Across the entire product." —Lee Robinson
The Download
The Download is your weekly scoop on engineering evolution. 🍦
1. Duolingo’s new AI mandate, and finding a new competitor in Google 🦉
Duolingo isn’t just teaching languages anymore; it’s now battling an AI mandate that could disrupt its market dominance. Google’s Little Language Lessons, powered by its Gemini models, is making waves with personalized language practice that could outshine traditional methods. This raises a critical question: are established players like Duolingo at risk of being outpaced by AI-driven innovations? Duolingo isn’t waiting around to find out. The CEO just dropped a new AI mandate on how Duolingo will transform to meet new opportunities. It’s clear the education landscape is ripe for upheaval.
Read: Duolingo going 'AI-first', replacing contractors with artificial intelligence: CEO
2. Intel’s CEO shakes things up with layoffs and a return-to-office mandate 🏢
Intel is shaking things up with layoffs, restructuring, and an expanded return-to-office policy, as new CEO Lip-Bu Tan aims to streamline operations. The focus on reducing management layers (some as deep as 8 levels!!! 🤯) highlights a common tech malaise: too many managers, not enough doers. In the current landscape, those who can roll up their sleeves and contribute will be the ones who thrive.
We’re going beyond Copilot, are you coming with us? 🛣️
Join Andrew Zigler and a panel of industry experts for an upcoming webinar about the evolution of AI in software development. Discover how enterprise teams are moving from assistive tools to agentic AI, boosting productivity and orchestrating workflows. We’ll be covering new research from LinearB, so this is your chance to learn some practical insights and frameworks before anyone else. Don’t get left behind!
Reserve your spot today:
3. Where does your team fall on the graph? 📊
Curious about how your team measures up in the AI landscape? ICYMI: take our AI Collaboration Matrix quiz to explore your current use cases and adoption trends. The results are anonymous and will be shared during LinearB’s June 4th workshop, making it a fun way to see where you land on the matrix today. Plus, it’s a great conversation starter for your next team meeting!
