Sebastian Gierlinger on Scaling Remote Engineering at Storyblok

Sebastian Gierlinger, VP of Engineering at Storyblok, discusses the challenges and strategies of scaling a fully remote engineering organization from a small startup to a 250-person company. Storyblok operates as a headless content management system, offering flexibility by separating content from presentation through APIs, allowing for diverse frontend choices. The company utilizes AWS with a simple and scalable tech stack, and its growth from 10 to 250 employees necessitated adapting processes like transitioning from Scrum to Shape Up to better manage workflow and team capacity. Storyblok balances specialization and flexibility within its engineering teams and approaches AI with both enthusiasm and caution, ensuring AI tools enhance rather than hinder development. The overarching theme is that scaling is a systems challenge, requiring continuous adaptation of processes and structures to maintain alignment and effectiveness in a remote-first environment.