# Building an empowered career w/ Jean Hsu & Cate Huston #261

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-engineering-leadership-podcast-743839/building-an-empowered-career-w-jean-hsu-cate-huston-261
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-engineering-leadership-podcast-743839/building-an-empowered-career-w-jean-hsu-cate-huston-261.md
Podcast: [The Engineering Leadership Podcast](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-engineering-leadership-podcast-743839)
Published: 2026-06-10T22:18:53+00:00
Episode link: https://sfelc.com/podcasts
Audio file: https://pscrb.fm/rss/p/afp-942744-injected.calisto.simplecastaudio.com/4d87e711-78c0-43f3-9633-fa05520e07f2/episodes/31510eac-a88c-48c3-9571-27e4738522bd/audio/128/default.mp3?aid=rss_feed&awCollectionId=4d87e711-78c0-43f3-9633-fa05520e07f2&awEpisodeId=31510eac-a88c-48c3-9571-27e4738522bd&feed=Z8Dl_qAv
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-engineering-leadership-podcast-743839/episodes/building-an-empowered-career-w-jean-hsu-cate-huston-261
Duration seconds: 2867

## Resource

In this episode, Patrick discusses what it means to build an empowered career & explore creative career portfolios with Jean Hsu (VP of Engineering @ Range) and Cate Huston (author of The Engineering Leader and fractional CTO @ Twill). Both share their unique engineering leadership journeys & how they built creative career paths through exploration & finding room for optionality. We dissect the identity crisis that eng leaders face – whether they are ICs or managers – and how to navigate the tension between individual & team productivity, especially taking into consideration AI. Lastly, Jean and Cate share insights on letting go of societal norms, unique ways to expand your work, taking on bets, and incorporating your values into your career.

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## Transcript

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