Building the most AI-pilled engineering team in the world | Fiona Fung (Manager of the Claude Code and Cowork Teams)

In this episode, Fiona Fung, who leads Claude Code and Cowork at Anthropic, shares her journey from traditional software engineering to harnessing AI tools in product development. She emphasizes that coding is no longer the main bottleneck; the focus has shifted to how ambitious teams can be with this newfound coding efficiency. Fiona discusses the importance of fostering high agency and accountability among team members to maximize productivity. Additionally, she highlights the emotional aspects of software engineering, such as the loneliness of remote work, and how the team initiated pair programming lunches to bridge that gap. Changes in planning strategies to 'Just-In-Time planning' and the significance of staying product-minded are discussed, as well as Fiona's passion for AI tools and how they can assist even in the domain of small businesses. The episode dives into the skills that may be lost with the rise of AI in software engineering, and Fiona shares her philosophy on how to maintain a healthy team culture even amid rapid growth and change. Finally, Fiona offers thoughtful insights on the future of engineering roles in a world increasingly shaped by AI and the importance of kindness and open communication within teams.