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

Posted in:Software Engineering People & HR Office Hours Job Hunting Management 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·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 🔥👍🏾➕

ajasinger·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!

LuCoach·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!

jordanharrod·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.

madhavideshmukh·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!

ioanasomesan·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

nehajoshi·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?