Is AI Actually Replacing Data Engineers? (Spotify Engineer Weighs In)

In this episode, I sit down with Kirill Bobrov, a Senior Data Engineer at Spotify and author of the popular blog Luminousmen. Kirill recently gained massive attention for his viral repost of "Drunk Post: Things I've learned as a senior engineer". We dive into the straightforward realities of the current tech industry, exploring whether the AI boom is a beneficial infrastructure-building phase or just another bubble. We also discuss how AI impacts day-to-day data engineering, why actual engineering thinking cannot be fully replaced by agents, and the evolving landscape of tech careers and job hopping. Finally, we share our mutual struggles and triumphs in writing technical books, touching on Kirill's comprehensive book about concurrency. Luminousmen: https://luminousmen.com/