In-Person vs Remote Engineering Teams

A personal account comparing in-person and remote engineering team dynamics, drawing from experience at a hybrid company. Key themes include how in-office work creates informal knowledge silos and raises bus-factor risks, while remote work supports documentation, deep work, and flow state. The post also addresses remote work's downsides: the need for deliberate culture-building and accountability challenges. Practical tips are offered for fostering remote team culture through virtual open-office hours, lunch-and-learns, async social channels, and avoiding monitoring software in favor of ticket-based progress tracking.