Addy Osmani reflects on 14 years at Google, emphasizing that engineering is primarily about people and user problems rather than just code. He argues that technical cleverness is often a liability because it creates maintenance overhead and reduces system clarity.
The best engineers prioritize shipping imperfect work quickly to gain real-world feedback and avoid analysis paralysis.
They also understand that “glue work” like documentation and coordination is essential for team success even if it remains invisible. Personal growth requires humility, such as admitting uncertainty to foster a safe learning environment for the entire team.
Ultimately, long-term career success comes from building a strong network and treating expertise as a compounding asset.
The “glue work” he describes now manifests as context engineering, ensuring agents have the precise blueprints needed to execute. His final lessons remind us that while tools change, the engineer’s role remains focused on high-level architectural judgment and compounding expertise.
Ultimately, navigating the ambiguity of complex systems is the core skill that defines the modern, agent-driven developer. Agentic engineering era just arrived.
