Supported by Our Partnersā¢ WorkOS ā The modern identity platform for B2B SaaS.ā¢ The Software Engineerās Guidebook: Written by me (Gergely) ā now out in audio form as wellā¢ Augment Code ā AI coding assistant that pro engineering teams loveāNot many people know that I have a brother: Balint Orosz. Balint is also in tech, but in many ways, is the opposite of me. While I prefer working on backend and business logic, he always thrived in designing and building UIs. While I opted to work at more established companies, he struck out on his own and started his startup, Distinction. And yet, our professional paths have crossed several times: at one point in time I accepted an offer to join Skyscanner as a Principal iOS Engineer ā and as part of the negotiation, I added a clause to my contrac that I will not report directly or indirectly to the Head of Mobile: who happened to be my brother, thanks to Skyscanner acquiring his startup the same month that Skyscanner made an offer to hire me.Today, Balint is the founder and CEO of Craft, a beloved text editor known for its user-friendly interface and sleek design ā an app that Apple awarded the prestigious Mac App of the Year in 2021.In our conversation, we explore how Balint approaches building opinionated software with an intense focus on user experience. We discuss the lessons he learned from his time building Distinction and working at Skyscanner that have shaped his approach to Craft and its development.In this episode, we discuss:ā¢ Balintās first startup, Distinction, and his time working for Skyscanner after they acquired itā¢ A case for a balanced engineering culture with both backend and frontend prioritiesĀ ā¢ Why Balint doesnāt use iOS Auto Layoutā¢ The impact of Craft being personal software on front-end and back-end developmentā¢ The balance between customization and engineering fear in frontend workā¢ The resurgence of local-first software and its role in modern computingā¢ The value of building a physical prototypeĀ ā¢ How Balint uses GenAI to assist with complicated coding projectsĀ ā¢ And much more!āTimestamps(00:00) Intro(02:13) What itās like being a UX-focused founderĀ (09:00) Why it was hard to gain recognition at SkyscannerĀ (13:12) Takeaways from Skyscanner that Balint brought to CraftĀ (16:50) How frameworks work and why they arenāt always a good fit(20:35) An explanation of iOS Auto Layout and its pros and consĀ (23:13) Why Balint doesnāt use Auto LayoutĀ (24:23) Why Craft has one code baseĀ (27:46) Craftās unique toolbar features and a behind the scenes peek at the codeĀ (33:15) Why frontend engineers have fear around customizationĀ (37:11) How Craftās design system differs from most companiesĀ (42:33) Behaviors and elements Craft uses rather than having a system for everythingĀ (44:12) The back and frontend architecture in building personal softwareĀ (48:11) Shifting beliefs in personal computingĀ (50:15) The challenges faced with operating system updatesĀ (50:48) The resurgence of local-first software(52:31) The value of opinionated software for consumersĀ (55:30) Why Craftās focus is on the userās emotional experience(56:50) The size of Craftās engineering department and platform teams(59:20) Why Craft moves faster with smaller teams(1:01:26) Balintās advice for frontend engineers looking to demonstrate valueĀ (1:04:35) Balintās breakthroughs using GenAI(1:07:50) Why Balint still writes code(1:09:44) Rapid fire roundāThe Pragmatic Engineer deepdives relevant for this episode:ā¢ The AI hackathon at Craft Docsā¢ Engineering career paths at Big Tech and scaleupsā¢ Thriving as a Founding Engineer: lessons from the trenchesā¢ The past and future of modern backend practicesāSee the transcript and other references from the episode at ā ā https://newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com/podcastā ā āProduction and marketing by ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā https://penname.co/ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā . For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email
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