Aja Hammerly
Innovation, Technical Leadership, and Kindness
I have spent over two decades navigating the intersections of software development, developer experience, and engineering leadership. At Google, I serve as the Director of Builder Relations, leading teams focused on shaping the future of software development, developer workflows, and technical community engagement.
My writing is my attempt to show all sides of software development in the AI age, from tools to management to algorithms and architectures. I believe that technical rigor is a core virtue of our craft, but that joy, kindness, and collaboration are the true prerequisites for long-term engineering excellence.
My career has spanned software engineering roles at Substantial, DreamBox Learning, and Expedia, alongside Developer Relations leadership at Google Cloud. Outside of work, I'm active in the Seattle developer community, and when I'm not thinking about systems, I'm likely programming in Ruby or Prolog.
Philosophy
Innovation
Creative, forward thinking solutions to tomorrow's engineering problems.
Leadership
Building loyal, high performing teams and leading from the front.
Kindness
Engineering is a team sport. Treating colleagues, community members, and users with empathy and respect is the foundation of every successful project.