Overview
This video features Jake Bullum, a Principal Engineer (IC8) at Instagram, discussing his career progression from IC6 to IC8, his work on major infrastructure migrations, and the systems he's developed to maintain work-life balance while delivering high-impact projects. Jake shares insights on technical leadership, diff review philosophy, and practical productivity strategies.
Main Topics Covered
- Career progression from IC6 to IC8 at Meta/Instagram
- Leading large-scale infrastructure migrations with hundreds of teams
- Work-life balance strategies and time management systems
- Technical leadership philosophy and team coordination
- Diff review practices and risk management
- Note-taking and knowledge management systems
- Career advice and maintaining authenticity at work
Key Takeaways & Insights
- Impact over hierarchy: Jake consistently moved toward backend infrastructure because that's where the highest impact was, affecting thousands of engineers
- Strategic project approach: Successfully reframed a controversial migration as "fixing devx between stacks" to avoid organizational resistance
- Trust-based leadership: Built systems that minimize meetings and maximize individual contributor time while maintaining team coordination
- Risk-calibrated processes: Developed a philosophy of modulating effort based on risk level rather than applying uniform standards
- Authentic leadership: Maintains his personality and humor at work, believing it makes the environment more enjoyable and productive
Actionable Strategies
- Time blocking: Reserve 50% of week for focus blocks, no meetings before lunch, dedicate specific days (Wednesday/Friday) as meeting-free
- Diff review efficiency: Provide thorough reviews for high-risk/core system changes, but trust team members on low-risk/leaf components
- Always be available: Make time for anyone who needs help, even if it means scheduling weeks out
- 20-30% uncredited work: Spend time on valuable contributions that won't appear in performance reviews but benefit the organization
- Go where you're valued: Seek teams and environments that appreciate your specific strengths and skills
Specific Details & Examples
- Led a 2-year infrastructure migration that was completed in 6 months, enabling Instagram web ads launch
- Manages projects involving 150+ teams without central recurring meetings
- Uses VS Code for note-taking with thousands of interconnected files spanning 10 years
- Responds to diff reviews within 5 minutes when in coding mode
- Maintains 40-hour work weeks on average, occasionally scaling to 60-70 hours during critical periods
Warnings & Common Mistakes
- Avoid misaligned environments: Don't stay on teams that don't value your strengths (e.g., frontend expert on backend-focused team)
- Don't over-organize: Avoid complex folder structures or excessive meeting hierarchies that slow down productivity
- Beware of disconnection: Tech leads can lose sight of project goals by getting caught up in day-to-day operations
- Risk assessment errors: Applying uniform quality standards regardless of component criticality wastes time and slows progress
Resources & Next Steps
- VS Code extensions: For linking notes and creating knowledge graphs
- Server champions program: Community feedback system for large-scale infrastructure changes
- Workplace essays: Internal Meta resources including "Go where you're rare" and essays on uncredited work
- Focus on fundamentals: Prioritize work that no one else wants to do but you believe is important
- Build trust-based systems: Develop team processes that emphasize speed and trust over rigid oversight