S2.E2 Get Your Engineers Out of the Basement!
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: The Ops Drop Podcast
If audio is not your thing and you prefer video, you can also watch this episode on our YouTube channel: @TheOpsDrop
In this episode of The Ops Drop, we talk with Ed Morgan — a 20+ year software engineer and founder - about what it takes to build an effective, business-savvy engineering team in 2025.
We dive into engineering team structure, hiring the right engineers, working with outsourced vs in-house teams, and how to align engineering metrics with business outcomes. Whether you're a CTO, VP of Engineering, or product leader, this conversation will help you rethink how engineering teams should operate in today’s tech landscape.
Timestamps:
00:40 Ed Morgan: journalist turned engineer
03:30 STEM vs Non-STEM educated engineers
05:50 What to look for in your engineering candidates
08:20 Outsourcing vs hiring in-house engineers
10:35 How hiring trends have changed over time in engineering
14:15 Working with outsourced vs in-house teams
16:00 The ROI of your engineering team
18:00 What does a healthy engineering org look like?!
22:00 Aligning engineering metrics with business outcomes, and where to get started
23:45 Optimal engineering team structures
26:00 How to get your engineers "out of the basement" and closer to the business
29:45 Top 3 things engineering leaders need to be thinking about in 2025
👉 Subscribe to The Ops Drop for weekly conversations on engineering, product, and operations:
Apple Podcasts: The Ops Drop
Connect with Ed Morgan 🔗 LinkedIn: / edwardpmorgan 🌐 Gordian Knot: https://www.gordianknot.company/our-team
#engineeringleadership #softwareengineering #engineeringteams #techleadership #engineeringhiring #businessoutcomes #CTO #VPEngineering #TheOpsDrop
