Issue 45 - We Need More Product Engineers

Politics in Tech. Who is Hiring. We only need Google Sheets. SQL Needed Structure. AI Art. How to Take Notes as a Programmer. Great Thread Merge. Life of an AI Startup CEO. & much more.

First of all, 🪔 Happy Diwali everyone 🪔

We need more Product Engineers because writing code was never the hard part. The challenge has always been communication, and that communication gap happens when we don’t understand how the business works end to end and how our product helps customers.

Most junior developers (myself included, back in the day) tend to focus on shiny new tech tools, scalable architecture, and 100% code coverage.

Don’t get me wrong. Those are all wonderful things to learn early in your career. But as you grow, you need to shift your focus toward the product itself. What problem does it solve for your customers? How does it help your business grow?

Here’s the thing: you can build the most scalable architecture in the world, but nobody’s going to pay for it if it doesn’t help their business grow or serve their customers well. Understanding that is the real key.

I’ve met countless developers who say, “I just do what my manager asks me to do.” They never stop to ask why they’re building this or how it benefits the customer.

We have a lot of developers who never ask why and don’t think about the product. And nobody wants those developers for the long term.

So be a Product Engineer, not just a Software Engineer.

---

What is the best tech decision you made that led to huge business results? Hit reply - I love hearing these stories.

---

Flutter with AI Workshop

AI won’t replace you. But a person who knows how to use AI will. If you are a Flutter developer and want to leverage AI in your day-to-day workflow, I am planning to run a workshop.

Checkout more details on flutterwithai.com

💼 Jobs to Apply:

Senior Flutter Engineer at VESPR Wallet

VESPR is the leading wallet on the Cardano blockchain, securing $400M+ in user assets and processing $30M+ daily in self-custody transactions.

We’re now rebuilding our mobile experience and expanding into Bitcoin — and we’re looking for a Senior Flutter Engineer to help architect the next generation of cross-chain wallets.

Salary Range: €7,000 / month (B2B) + €100K in stock options

✍🏻 Articles to read:

1. Why I Only Use Google Sheets by Maybe-Ray

When I was building a Dental management app for my wife’s clinic, I started off with Google Sheets and then moved to a relationships database later. I’ve tried dozens of task and expense management apps and tools to see everything on a one page dashboard... I ditched everything and have been using Google Sheets for the last 3 years.

Similarly, I am using a google doc to add all my social media weekly posts. Also, I’ve built a simple Raycast extension as form to fill the Google Sheets.

2. Let’s talk about AI art by Matthew Inman

Another example of how AI cannot replace art. The comic itself is art, and no AI can reproduce it.

3. Stop Avoiding Politics by Terrible Software

I spent 4 years avoiding politics. Now I understand there is no escape from it. It’s a part of the human system. Once, I was so frustrated because my project didn’t get through just because I didn’t speak up at the right time in the team meeting.

4. SQL Needed Structure by Jamie

Databases store data sequentially, but the user interface may require it differently. This blog describes how to structure queries based on UI structure.

📺 Videos to Watch:

1. The Great Thread Merge

To summarize, currently we have:

1. UI Thread: To render widgets

2. Raster Thread: C++ code to paint the pixels

3. Platform Thread: For native communication

Now, 1 and 3 are merged together:

1. Platform Thread: To render widgets and also for native code

2. Raster Thread: Same as usual This simplifies all native code calls by removing Future and making them synchronous. Please note that the work is still in progress and may require a migration strategy on our end.

2. How to Take Notes as a Programmer

Last year, I switched to Obsidian and started using Readwise for my content consumption. Both tools are working great. However, emphasis should be placed on simplifying things.

🪶 Quotes from Books

📦 Code from Packages

1. Flutter Fastlane Action

This Flutter package provides a one-step CI/CD solution for Flutter apps. For a project without any Fastlane setup, it automatically configures all necessary Fastlane settings, builds your Android and iOS apps, and deploys them to Google Play and the App Store with zero manual setup. Developers only need to provide six essential configuration values in GitHub Secrets.

2. ente/mobile

Ente is a service that provides a fully open source, end-to-end encrypted platform for you to store your data in the cloud without needing to trust the service provider. On top of this platform, we have built two apps so far: Ente Photos (an alternative to Apple and Google Photos) and Ente Auth (a 2FA alternative to the deprecated Authy).

3. lightyeardev/volt

Effortlessly manage asynchronous data fetching, caching, and real-time data delivery with minimal code.

🔖Post I Found Useful

1. One of My Greatest Fascinations

2. Advanced Time Management Principles: Thread

🛠️ Tool I Found Useful

1. Shot-Scraper

A command-line utility for taking automated screenshots of websites

😂 Fun and Memes

1. life of an AI startup founder/CEO

👋🏻 That’s it, Folks

I am currently open for consultation part-time/full-time, specialized in mobile development with Android and Flutter. So if you are looking for someone to:

1. Build product architecture from scratch

2. Train existing developers to level up

3. Fix major bottlenecks in legacy codebase

4. Improve code quality

5. And most importantly, ship things faster

then reach out to me at info@burhanrashid52.com.