Peter Cepeda

I fed 8 years of feedback and reviews into ChatGPT to help make sense of my career. What came back wasn’t a summary—it was a mirror. This is a story of growth, burnout, and rediscovering purpose through reflection.

What do design and software engineering have in common? A lot more than you'd think. Here's how lessons from my graphic design career made me a better coder—starting with how to take critique, simplify solutions, and stop overworking your ideas.

Our agile training wasn’t mind-blowing—it was a mirror. We weren’t doing the basics: real planning, clear stories, realistic commitments. This is a reflection on the fundamentals we skipped and the lessons that still stick with me today.

Direction is only useful when paired with context. If you want teams to steer, not just row, give them the why, make space for voices, and focus on building people—not just products.

I left Digital Retail to find a space that matched my values. After 3.5 years of stalled growth, unrecognized contributions, and philosophical misalignment, Developer Experience gave me a fresh start—and a chance to make engineering better for everyone.

Interviewing is about connection, not interrogation. Here’s how to approach it like a conversation, make people feel safe, and maybe even solve a real problem together—especially when hiring someone you’ll actually be working side by side with.