Dejan Dundjerski, Principal Software Engineer at Microsoft's Belgrade Development Center, shares his 20-year journey from building POCs for Azure SQL's first open-source database to replatforming Azure SQL Managed Instance at 10x scale. He explains that principal engineers differ from seniors by not just identifying problems but implementing solutions and leading others to join. Key advice includes focusing on simplicity in architectural decisions, understanding technical details deeply in your domain, avoiding short-term workarounds, and making changes at the right level of the tech stack. He emphasizes problem-solving mindset over titles, recommends blocking time for deep focus while handling 30-second tasks immediately, and treats LLMs as queryable libraries rather than requiring comprehensive study.
Table of contents
Zero Trust for AI: Securing MCP Servers eBook (Sponsored)1. Who is Dejan?2. What is your career journey?3. What were some of the biggest challenges you faced while advancing to a Principal Engineer position?4. What’s the most important difference between senior and principal engineers?5. How should Principal Engineers balance technical depth and breadth?6. How do you make architectural decisions in complex projects?7. What early-career technical challenge shaped your system-design approach?8. How has your technical problem-solving evolved since your senior engineer days?9. How do you manage your day-to-day productivity, given multiple responsibilities?10. How do you stay current with rapid technological advancements, such as AI?11. Do you have any recommended learning resources to share with us?More ways I can help you:Want to advertise in Tech World With Milan? 📰Love Tech World With Milan Newsletter? Tell your friends and get rewards.2 Comments
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