Emily Lewis

That $70/hour “senior developer” you hired is getting paid $3k/month and planning to leave. And you won’t hear about it from the agency. They’ll just write a vague email next quarter saying he’s “no longer available,” followed by a replacement dev who needs two weeks to onboard and another two to actually be useful. We’ve seen cases where a dev earning $4,000/month was billed at $12,000. And when they left, the client was not able to get a proper handoff. Most staff aug firms operate on a spread: the cheaper the developer, the more margin they make. Your success doesn’t factor in. Their job isn’t to find you the best engineer -it’s to maximize the gap between what you pay and what the dev earns. That model works great for them. Just not for you. We built Remotely as a transparent marketplace: developers set their own rates, keep 100% of it, and we charge a flat fee on top. None of that funny math and additional markup. It’s not a revolutionary idea. It’s just how this should have worked all along. If you want developers who stay longer and perform insanely better, start by not giving them a reason to leave.

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If you're looking for a new docs framework for your dev tool, I can't recommend Docusaurus enough. 1. You can change the appearance of any component—no matter how big or small—by ejecting its raw React code into your source tree. I've ejected almost all of its major components and restyled them with Tailwind. 2. It supports content written with MDX, which is like Markdown but better. MDX lets you write JSX tags so you can render React components (like badges and banners) directly inline your content. No more messy templating. 3. It bundles Prism for code snippet highlighting. So you if you want to change how each and every token of your language gets styled—which I do—you can override it with a simple centralized map—which I have. 4. You can swap out its on-site search engine with Algolia, now widely considered the best option for developer sites. It is, in other words, the perfect tool for people like me who are obsessed with every pixel.

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🧱Building LangGraph: Designing an Agent Runtime from first principles Nuno Campos wrote a detailed blog on how he designed and built LangGraph, going deeper than any other piece of content we've put out. Includes: 1. what’s different about building agents compared to traditional software 2. how we turned these differences into required features. 3. how we designed and tested our framework for these requirements. https://lnkd.in/gMdnRh9s

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💡 AI doesn’t just change how code is written – it changes expectations and outcomes. In the final section of Jellyfish’s AI Adoption Guide, we explore how expectations for engineering leaders are evolving as AI becomes embedded across the SDLC. Because the organizations pulling ahead are treating AI as a transformation, not a tooling upgrade. Inside, you’ll explore: - Why AI adoption is quickly becoming a leadership mandate, not an option - How to balance ambitious goals with realistic expectations - What cultural investments are required to sustain long-term gains - How data can be used to align executives and engineering teams The teams that win in the AI era won’t just have better tools – they’ll have leaders who know how to guide change. Download today: https://lnkd.in/dut_6WpQ

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"Our lead developer abruptly left, leaving us with a mess." - Red flag? 🚩 I see posts like this all the time. At first glance, it looks like a company in trouble. But often the story is more complicated than that. Whenever I talk to a potential client, I ask “𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦?” If they get defensive, aggressive, or visibly annoyed, that tells me more than any contract ever could. 🚩 Often the developer didn’t just rage-quit and “leave a mess.” They just finished their notice and moved on. 🧳 (Often after months of ignored suggestions, unpaid invoices, or the ever-expanding scope.) But the job post is written to create urgency, shift blame, and make it sound like they were wronged. 🚨 “No dev on board! We’re sinking!” 🚨 “We urgently need someone to clean up this mess!” Sometimes that’s true. But sometimes, it’s just easier to write a dramatic ad than to take responsibility. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐚 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐝 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐯 𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲’𝐫𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐧𝐞. 🙃 Worth remembering on both sides.

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AGENTS MAKING AGENTS: Chef 🧑‍🍳 Evan Boyle shows us how to “grow” agents in the Cozy AI Kitchen (🎂 CAIK) https://lnkd.in/gct4PRxc with a few nouveau recipes for creating agentic systems in code. Instead of stitching workflows by hand, 🧑‍🍳 Evan shows how GenSX lets developers compose intelligence using familiar building blocks—just like React, but for reasoning. With tools that debug themselves and agents that rewrite their own logic, the kitchen’s heating up. HT 🧑‍🍳 Ross Heise 🧑‍🍳 Matt Scholz - If you can build a React component, you can build an agent. - Self-modifying agents are here—and yes, they can refactor themselves. - Developer tools for agents are catching up—debug, visualize, and iterate like never before. - Don’t just build agents—let them build themselves. - The future of software might not be written—it may be grown. --- This CAIK episode: https://lnkd.in/gct4PRxc All 45 🎂 episodes: https://lnkd.in/e2yK8q6W

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How we’re hitting a 3-week time-to-hire for senior software engineers without cutting corners. Here’s a breakdown of how we filled a high-context senior frontend role at Web3 scaleup Rarible using the same system that’s now delivering 3-week TTH across our portfolio. Hiring high-bar engineers in Web3 isn't just about reach. It’s about rigour. We created an AI-enabled, go-to-market hiring campaign: The process (built for speed + quality) Clear ICP We mapped must-haves, dealbreakers, and likely objections up front, not after wasting 2 weeks. → Must-haves: React, TypeScript, Rx.js → No consultancies. Remote, GMT ±2. Web3/consumer background. Calibration table Turned the JD into a decision-making framework for screening, scorecards and syncs. → “Must-have vs. nice-to-have” clarity → Evidence > vibes → Helped the hiring team say yes/no faster, with less debate. Market mapping We broke down the talent pool into Tier 1 & Tier 2 across Europe. → 2,200+ profiles analysed → 96 Tier 1 engineers in Eastern Europe alone → Gave the client hard numbers + sourcing strategy options Structured interview kit → 10 categories → Scoring guidance for strong vs. weak answers → Reduced noise + sped up decision making Email outreach (that engineers actually respond to) → 4-part drip sequence (value prop, re-engage, product context, final nudge) → Personalised via GPT-4, signed off by the hiring lead → Tone: casual, confident, clear AI-enabled workflows → Automated outreach via n8n → Our Talent Partner operated like a full-stack squad Notion sourcing tracker → Per region: LinkedIn links, tags, message history → Fast async syncs with the client. No crossed wires. Prepped FAQ answers → Role, team, onboarding, tech stack, roadmap → Helped candidates convert Boolean done properly → Targeted for Rx.js + Web3 → Excluded low-context profiles → Localised by region The result ✔️ Fast, high-quality close ✔️ Happy hiring manager ✔️ Clean, repeatable system we now run across clients Hiring engineers in SaaS, Web3, fintech, or AI? This is the level of precision that gets results. DM me or connect if you want support.

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We don't see it often enough, but the start-ups I've worked with who hired *very* senior software developers - often semi-retired folks - part-time got enormous benefits. Most start-ups can't afford to pay for a full-time distinguished engineer, but giving dev teams a chance to be influenced by them even just one or two days a week can really raise the ceiling on what teams realise is possible and where their bar is set.

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I've helped senior developers land 6-figure offers in a down market—my biggest discovery? At first, I thought imposter syndrome was just a mindset issue. But it's actually costing experienced developers $30-50K in lost salary negotiations. Avoid this trap by: • Documenting your wins (most devs can't articulate their value) • Quantifying your impact with metrics (saves, generates, improves by X%) • Practicing salary conversations until they feel natural The result? Confidence backed by evidence. Your technical skills matter less than your ability to communicate your value. What makes you hesitate during salary discussions? P.S. Repost to help a developer who's leaving money on the table ♻️

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“VP of what?” Had a career consultation yesterday with a senior software engineering leader — 15+ years of experience, led teams, worked at a leading bank. Solid background. But no interviews for months. When I asked what role he’s targeting, he said: “VP. Or Director-level.” The problem? No clarity. No positioning. His CV and LinkedIn both just list vague titles / levels like Director or Senior Director he had within the org — but don't reflect his function. And the reality is: recruiters don’t read long job descriptions. They skim your title and decide in seconds if you’re relevant. 📌 “VP” on its own means nothing. Companies hire for specific titles VP of Engineering, Director of IT, Head of AI — not just levels. So: ✅ Be specific. ✅ Show your domain, not just your rank within the org. ✅ Don’t make people guess. It’s a small change that makes a huge difference. #recruitertips #gwd #growwithdaria #talentacquisition

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🤖 I love how the discipline of doing things right rarely gets appreciated - until it unlocks possibilities you didn't even know existed... Check out how I can now ask Claude about our team performance 👇 We've been tracking engineering metrics at loveholidays since day one - from team health and code quality to performance data, even building them into data products. It was an investment to ensure our environment and culture was as great to work in as it was performant. Recently, thanks to this investment and the brilliant work of Stuart Caborn, Misha Griffiths and George Malamidis, we were able to connect our data to Claude via MCP. Meaning we can now have conversations to explore six years of performance insights. We've all heard that engagement drives performance, but here is what our data actually shows: Teams with high health scores show: → 40% faster code reviews → 25% higher goal completion → 50% fewer escalated incidents It's a reminder that new technologies don't create value out of nothing. They amplify what you've already built. The invisible work we did for years - tracking data religiously, making it accessible, having organisational patience - that's what made this breakthrough possible. What foundational work is your organisation undervaluing today? #TechLeadership #EngineeringLeadership #AIIntegration

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We once had a client come in with a monster codebase from Replit and say: “Can you help us clean this up?” We asked: “What frontend framework do you use?” They said: “Uh… Javascript?” Not great. You can’t be putting client data on a system you don’t understand. We get this question from non-technical founders all the time: “Should I use Bubble or something like v0 / Replit to build my app?” Here’s what we usually tell them: 👉If you don’t code, please don’t use v0 or Replit. They spit out code, but you won’t know what to do with it. See above ☝️ 👉If what you’re building is simple, and you look at the Bubble site and think it can do what you need: go ahead and try building it yourself. It’ll be much cheaper than hiring an agency! Just know you’ll probably end up scrapping it in a few months. You can’t export code from Bubble, and the platform does have limits. But it’s great for getting something up fast and validating your idea. 👉If you’re thinking about hiring people, don’t hire them to do Bubble. Have them write real code. The whole point of Bubble is that you can build without coding knowledge or hiring people. The cost difference between a Bubble agency and a coding agency isn’t worth the (much) shorter lifetime you’ll get with Bubble work. Bottom line: If you’re doing it yourself, Bubble’s a great way to start. If you need to go further (or bring in people like us at First Mate Technologies) it’s time for real code.

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