One of the most satisfying wins in my career wasn’t about code, it was about people.
A while back, we were asked to integrate the CI/CD pipelines of a newly acquired company into our system. It was a huge project. Two distinct engineering cultures, two different ways of thinking about deployments, and a short timeline to get it all working.
On paper, it looked like a technical challenge. In reality, it was a team challenge. And that’s where my role came in.
Building Alignment
My first move wasn’t to sketch out infrastructure diagrams. It was to get people in the same (virtual) room. We started with a few discovery sessions, low-pressure, cameras-on, open-dialogue calls where both teams could share how their systems worked and what they cared about. I focused on setting a tone of curiosity and respect.
Instead of dictating a solution, we created a shared doc of principles: reliability, observability, security, and deployment speed. These weren’t just buzzwords, they were the lens through which we made every decision. And because both teams had input, those principles had real buy-in.
Creating Space to Shine
I made a conscious choice not to lead the design directly. Instead, I picked two senior engineers, one from each team, and asked them to co-lead the technical strategy. My role shifted to coaching them through friction, surfacing blockers with leadership, and making sure the environment supported deep work.
I handled the calendar battles. They handled the architecture.
It worked. Over six weeks, we moved from two incompatible pipelines to one integrated deployment flow that reduced average release time by 40% and improved rollback time by 60%.
What Made the Difference
The win wasn’t in the final deployment stats, it was in how the team got there. The engineers felt heard, trusted, and challenged. Our standups got shorter, our retros got real, and the cross-team camaraderie stuck around long after the project ended.
And for me? I walked away reminded that great engineering isn’t just about technical expertise. It’s about creating the conditions for people to thrive.
This wasn’t my pipeline. This was our win. And it’s still one of my favorite stories to tell.