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Office Hours: I’m an Engineering Manager at Descript for two product engineering teams that work on AI-powered features. I’ve worked at startups and in big tech as both an IC & a manager. I’m Rachel Bloch Mellon.Featured

rbmellon'srbmellon·Oct 14
Posted in:Software EngineeringPeople & HROffice HoursJob HuntingManagement and Leadership

Hi Elphas!

My name is Rachel Bloch Mellon and I’m an Engineering Manager at Descript. Descript is a video editor that makes editing video as easy as editing docs. My teams build features to make the editing and creation experience great, and to do that, we integrate with a variety of AI models (including LLMs and audio/video models).

Before Descript, I worked on Google Maps as a Software Engineer, Byteboard as a founding engineer and Head of Engineering, and Gem as a Staff Software Engineer.

I’ve always been passionate about diversity, equity and inclusion, starting with my time leading she++ (a nonprofit focused on empowering women in tech). Spending ~5 years in the Recruiting Tech space (Byteboard, Gem) has also given me a unique perspective and window into understanding what good hiring/recruiting looks like, and how those best practices intersect with inclusive culture.

I currently live in Brooklyn, NY with my husband. When I’m not working, I enjoy reading, vegan baking, and playing softball.

Ask me anything about engineering leadership, the management/IC pendulum, building with AI, coaching and growing engineers, the intersection of culture and business, hiring best practices, technical interviews, DEI, or anything else!

ElphaStaff'sElphaStaff·Oct 14
Thanks so much for joining us @rbmellon!Elphas – please ask @rbmellon your questions before Friday, October 18th. @rbmellon may not have time to answer every questions, so emoji upvote your favorites 🔥👍🏾➕
rbmellon'srbmellon·Oct 19
Thanks for having me! This was a lot of fun :)
nehajoshi'snehajoshi·Oct 16
Hi Rachel!Nice to virtually meet you, I'm also from Brooklyn here :) Can you describe the transition from IC leading projects to management, so more specifically managing projects to managing people? What were the factors taken into consideration, how did you decide what you enjoyed more, what did the trajectory in terms of time look like for you?And one more question -- what advice would you give to someone early career, who's been in IC roles say 2-3 years?
rbmellon'srbmellon·Oct 19
Hi Neha, nice to e-meet you too! This is a great set of questions.Something I’ve realized over the course of my career is that the more senior you become, the more the responsibilities and behaviors required to be successful as an IC vs. as a manager converge. For example, a TL and a manager are both accountable for the team working on the right things and building things in a way that's aligned to the business need (eg. quickly when early stage, extensible when a product is established). What's different are the ways you are expected to be strategic (technical vs. product/business) and the mechanics of your day-to-day.That’s one of the reasons I’m a strong believer in the IC/manager pendulum – even if you decide that management is not for you, being a manager makes you a better IC and being an IC makes you a better manager.My first time managing people was when I transitioned from the primary IC on a project to a TL of a small team to the TLM (tech lead manager) of that team. At the time, I was excited to give management a try (I had been a mentor before and really enjoyed that), but it also just made sense based on what the team needed. I loved being a manager, especially the coaching and developing people part, and knew pretty quickly that management craft was something I cared about developing.After managing for a few years, I decided to transition back to IC: I felt a desire to build more technical depth, in part because I felt like it was challenging for me to coach and mentor my direct reports that had a lot more technical experience than I did.In my most recent job search, I decided to go back to management for a lot of reasons, but the biggest one was around energy. As a Staff Engineer, the work I was enjoying doing the most was technical mentorship as a TL, reworking our hiring process, advising on project staffing decisions and reorgs, and aligning the team's roadmap to the business. I don’t mind being on a manager’s schedule (meeting heavy) vs. a maker’s schedule (lots of focus blocks), and I handle being randomized well. So when I looked closely at my responsibilities as an EM vs. as an IC, it became apparent that management is better aligned to how I want to spend my time, at least for now.
LuCoach'sLuCoach·Oct 17
Hi Rachel, I am often confused about the role of Engineering manager since I have seen many companies asking for different things from their EMs in their job descriptions and also EMs doing a variety of things on a day to day basis (some of them looking a lot like Scrum Masters) including CODING!So I am curious, how would you define the role, responsibilities and the day to day of an EM overall and specifically at Descript? And 2. If your role was not officially named Engineering Manager, how else would you have called it? Thank you and hugs!
rbmellon'srbmellon·Oct 19
This is a great question – engineering managers can look really different across companies (and even often from team to team or EM to EM). My first manager was a TLM (tech lead manager), so for a long time I couldn’t really imagine what a full-time Engineering Manager would do, and what the responsibility split would look like with a Tech Lead.As an engineering manager, I think of my core responsibilities as people (are people feeling motivated and growing? are the right people working on each project? is my team performing well?), process (how are we operating as an EPD team? what is slowing down the team or making people frustrated?), and product (are we building the right things to enable the business?). However, what my day-to-day or focus is can change drastically based on a number of factors:- Does the team have solid technical leadership (eg. a Tech Lead or senior ICs) or do I need to also be driving sound technical decision making?- How “healthy” is the team? The org? If engineering or EPD is unhealthy, I might spend time on process improvements that will benefit my team as well as others. If my team is unhealthy (eg. underperformance, lack of clarity / vision, high levels of frustration or turnover) then I might spend a lot more time on people and process at the team level.- Are there gaps that I am uniquely positioned to fill? (For example, in my current role, I’ve been spending time working cross-functionally with folks across AI Research, AI Platform, and Product-Engineerings teams that use AI to solidify and further our company-wide AI Strategy).I do think Engineering Manager is a fairly accurate description of my role today, but I also was pretty intentional to not interview at companies that defined EM in a way that didn’t feel aligned to the work I wanted to be doing. That meant I didn’t apply for any “hands-on”, “coding 50% of their time”, or TLM style roles. I’ve done the TLM thing, and it’s really, really hard to be a great TL and a great EM at the same time, but those roles might be a great fit for some people and they are also great transitional roles for folks that aren’t 100% sold on becoming an EM, but want to give it a try!
ajasinger'sajasinger·Oct 17
Thank you so much for answering questions @rbmellon! I've use Descript for podcast editing and it was such a fantastic product. After a career as a founder and creative director I taught myself to code and have been working for a year as a full stack developer for a startup. Now, I am looking for a new role and was wondering if you have any tips for early career engineers for getting your resume noticed aside from referrals, given the competitive market? And tips for calming technical interview nerves?Also, I'd love to support she++ what's the best way to get involved? Thank you!
rbmellon'srbmellon·Oct 19
Thank you! Your question is a tough one to answer: this current market is tough, especially for folks with more limited technical experience. Referrals are great, but don’t be afraid to also pursue warm intros (eg. your former co-worker intros you to someone they know at a different company). As a career changer, the other thing you can do is find ways to highlight on your resume how your experience as a founder and creative director translates to being successful as a developer – I wouldn’t undervalue the leadership, communication, or strategy skills that you’ve built in those other roles.For technical interview nerves, I don’t have a panacea but I can say that it does get easier! Practicing technical interviews (online or with trusted friends/mentors) is a great way to build your confidence, but some of it will just come down to studying for each kind of interview you expect to see.It’s also worth noting – not all technical interviews are the same! Many companies are shifting to more project-based or skills-based assessments, which means the interview is less about how much you study algorithm runtimes, and more about how you problem solve on the job!
ajasinger'sajasinger·Oct 28
Thank you so much for this great advice!!
jordanharrod'sjordanharrod·Oct 17
Hi Rachel - Thank you so much for taking the time to answer our questions! I’ve been using Descript for years now, both for my YouTube channel (focused on AI) and for client work, and it has saved me sooo much time. I’d love to learn more about how y’all currently approach AI integration, how that thinking has evolved over time, and where you see it going in the future—especially when it comes to balancing user control with automation. For context, I also run a consulting business where I help creators and businesses find AI tools that align with their values, so I'm always super interested in how companies like Descript are thinking about where these tools might go.
rbmellon'srbmellon·Oct 19
Ah what a great question! And thank you for the Descript love!One thing that I love is that we are aligned across the entire company that the creator (you!) should be in the driver seat and any AI features we build should be valuable tools for you, rather than automations that take away or minimize your creative process: https://help.descript.com/hc/en-us/articles/27252457732237-Meet-Underlord-your-AI-sidekickFor example, if you look at things you can do using Underlord, we give the user tons of options (but not so many as to be overwhelming).Where things are going at the industry level around user control vs. automation is harder to answer – there are plenty of companies that are focused on building one-shot AI-features, and only time will tell!
madhavideshmukh'smadhavideshmukh·Oct 16
Hi Rachel, I love Descript and used it to record my course on AI and Interior design (https://www.udemy.com/course/designing-dreams-ai-for-interior-design/) after trying a bunch of other tools. I am also looking forward to using more of the content creation features like shorts. I am wondering if you can shed any light on the engineering culture at Descript as well as the interview process for Engineering managers. Its one of the companies on my short list when I consider my next career move. Currently I am working on my own idea, [https://instaroom.ai/] Thanks!
Ila85·Oct 18
Hi Rachel –Thanks for being here! Love that you have such a strong focus on DEI – how would you define success in a DEI initiative within a tech company?
raibove'sraibove·Oct 18
Hi Rachel! I’m currently working as a Software Engineer at Fable (https://www.sharefable.com/) and I love what we’re building. I really enjoy working at a startup, but my friends keep suggesting I try working at a big tech company since this is my first job after graduation. Personally, I want to stay at a startup for 2-3 more years because I value the growth, ownership, and the opportunity to contribute to various aspects beyond just engineering. Since you have experience working in both startups and big tech, I’d love to hear your thoughts on this.
rbmellon'srbmellon·Oct 19
The reasons you listed for loving working at a startup (growth, ownership, and cross-functional opportunities) are honestly great reasons to stay at a growing startup! Reasons to go to big tech when you are early career:- You want to work at a more mature organization, where norms and processes are established and you can see what things are “supposed to look like”- You have tried startups and don’t feel like they are for you- You don’t feel your resume is impressive enough to get you good interview opportunities, and you believe that a big-name on your resume will help “credentialize” you for future roles- CompensationDon’t get me wrong – I learned a TON in my first role at Google. I learned about best practices in logging, I learned about backwards compatibility in API design, I learned how to be an effective software engineer. But I also had friends that went to startups and really really thrived with the ambiguity and rapid opportunities for growth. Everyone is different, so focus on what you think will be best for you!
raibove'sraibove·Oct 19
Thank you so much for taking the time to respond. I definitely love working at a startup. The only thing I’m afraid of is that I don’t feel my resume is impressive enough to get me good interview opportunities, and I believe having a big-name company on my resume would help “credentialize” me for future roles. Your points are really helpful, and I’ll definitely give them some thought as I consider the best path forward for my career!
carolynplican'scarolynplican·Oct 22
Rachel,I love, love, love Descript and have used for 18 months. It keeps getting better and better. Thanks for all the features like making sequencing easier. Now all I want is to be able to post directly to company social networks direct through the app. WinkWink.Carolyn
ioanasomesan'sioanasomesan·Oct 15
Hi, Rachel! Nice to virtually meet you and congrats on all you've accomplished so far! It's definitely impressive. I have a background in software development, and have worked in management for the past 6 years, mostly leading large cross functional teams. I recently quit my job to pursue freelancing, as I was craving more freedom and creativity in my work. I resonate with your passion for DEI and an inclusive culture, so here are a few questions I have: 1. Culture and business. How can you tell if an organisation really cares about their culture vs just says so on paper? I've often found that everyone talks the talk, but people rarely walk the walk and prioritize short term success over long term culture gains. Do you have any tips on how to spot this in organisations? Also, what are some practices you found helpful to promote a more inclusive culture in the teams you work with? 2. Building with AI. I'm very curious how you use this in your day to day activity. Can you give us some use cases examples? 3. General info. What's one thing you wish people knew about, or asked you about, that they overlook? Thanks so much! Really looking forward to hearing your thoughts
Kalyn179·Oct 18
Hi Rachel! What's your go-to vegan baking recipe? And any interesting books that you've read lately?
rbmellon'srbmellon·Oct 19
Thanks for the fun questions!I love this chickpea chocolate chip cookie recipe because it's so simple and so good: https://detoxinista.com/vegan-chickpea-chocolate-chip-cookies-gluten-free-nut-free/I’ve also recently been on a single-serving mug cake fix. This is a super easy recipe that really hits the spot: https://www.noracooks.com/vegan-mug-cake/And for a full-size cake recipe, you really can’t beat this vegan carrot cake: https://lovingitvegan.com/vegan-carrot-cake-lemon-buttercream-frosting/. I make this one frequently for family birthdays and it's a crowd-pleaser!
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