# 529: The Narwhal Looked Amazing

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/embedded-1055969/529-the-narwhal-looked-amazing
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/embedded-1055969/529-the-narwhal-looked-amazing.md
Podcast: [Embedded](https://stenobird.com/podcast/embedded-1055969)
Published: 2026-07-09T23:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://embedded.fm/episodes/529
Audio file: https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/makingembeddedsystems/embedded-ep529.mp3?dest-id=141180
Processing state: not_requested
JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/embedded-1055969/episodes/529-the-narwhal-looked-amazing
Duration seconds: 4928

## Resource

Chris Svec returns to the show to discuss the messy, non-linear realities of engineering management and onboarding new college graduates. We explore why companies should bother hiring fresh grads in the first place, how to prevent junior developers from going dark when they get stuck, and why admitting ignorance publicly is an absolute workplace superpower. Along the way, we dive into managing genius firmware engineering hires, battling technical debt and software entropy, and why your development team shouldn't communicate solely through pull request comments. Chris Svec is the Director of Embedded Software Engineering at Insulet. If you're looking for an experienced leadership or management thought partner to help scale your development team, Chris Svec offers private coaching and consulting. You can reach him directly at the email given in the show (or hit the contact link and we'll forward your message along). RECOMMENDED BOOKS FOR ENGINEERING MANAGERS & TECH LEADS The Manager's Path by Camille Fournier – A guide for navigating tech leadership and managing engineering teams. Resilient Management by Lara Hogan – A book dedicated to the human side of engineering management. SOFTWARE ARCHITECTURE & EMBEDDED SYSTEMS RESOURCES A Philosophy of Software Design by John Ousterhout – A high-level philosophical perspective on software engineering and architecture. The Pragmatic Programmer by Andrew Hunt and David Thomas – A classic text on software development best practices. Joel on Software by Joel Spolsky – Insights on software development methodologies and managing tech teams. Making Embedded Systems by Elecia White – A comprehensive guide to firmware design patterns and embedded architecture. Embedded for Everyone by Nathan Jones – A curated repository of accessible embe…

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## Transcript

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