The Peterman Pod

OpenAI Codex Tech Lead On How His Career Grew And How He Uses Codex | Michael Bolin

09 Mar 2026

Audio

Description

This is Michael Bolin, the tech lead for the open source Codex repository and a former distinguished engineer at Meta. We talked about his career path, how OpenAI engineers use Codex and the difference between research-led vs engineering-led company cultures.🔸 My keyboard project: https://read.compose.llc/p/our-keyboard-design-reveal𝗣𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸𝘀:• YouTube: https://youtu.be/hN5ZFzWFhhg• Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-peterman-pod/id1777363835• Transcript: https://www.developing.dev/p/openai-codex-tech-lead-on-how-his𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗺𝗽𝘀:00:00:00 - Intro00:00:56 - Chickenfoot00:02:45 - Working at Google00:06:34 - Overhauling Facebook's build system00:16:36 - Rewriting Facebook's IDE00:26:01 - Struggles after Principal Eng (E8) promo00:28:39 - Building a virtual filesystem for Facebook00:35:47 - Delayed Distinguished promo (E9) and learnings00:39:56 - Joining OpenAI00:43:05 - Research-led vs engineering-led cultures00:44:53 - The story behind Codex00:51:00 - How he uses Codex00:57:00 - Why Codex's harness is open source00:59:50 - Top technical book recommendations01:05:02 - Why deep technical skills are still valuable (for now)01:11:07 - How to start projects well01:14:27 - Advice on writing better and career planning01:17:06 - Advice for his younger self01:19:10 - Outro𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗠𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗲𝗹:• His personal blog - https://blog.bolinfest.com/• Twitter/X - https://x.com/bolinfest• Threads - https://www.threads.com/@bolinfest• LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-bolin-7632712𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝘆𝗮𝗻:• Newsletter: https://www.developing.dev/• X/Twitter: https://x.com/ryanlpeterman• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanlpeterman/• Threads: https://www.threads.com/@ryanlpeterman• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ryanlpeterman• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ryanlpeterman

Transcription

This episode hasn't been transcribed yet

Help us prioritize this episode for transcription by upvoting it.

0 upvotes

🗳️ Sign in to Upvote

Popular episodes get transcribed faster

Other episodes from The Peterman Pod

Transcribed and ready to explore now

Harvard Professor: CS50, What Matters More Than CS, Lecturing Well | David J Malan

11 May 2026

The Peterman Pod

MSL Eng Director: Promo Hacking, Industry Shifts, Regrets | John Myles White

04 May 2026

The Peterman Pod

Turing Award Winner: Postgres, Disagreeing with Google, Future Problems | Mike Stonebraker

20 Apr 2026

The Peterman Pod

The Peterman Pod

OpenAI Codex Tech Lead On How His Career Grew And How He Uses Codex | Michael Bolin

This episode hasn't been transcribed yet

Other episodes from The Peterman Pod

Harvard Professor: CS50, What Matters More Than CS, Lecturing Well | David J Malan

MSL Eng Director: Promo Hacking, Industry Shifts, Regrets | John Myles White

Turing Award Winner: Postgres, Disagreeing with Google, Future Problems | Mike Stonebraker

AWS Distinguished Eng: Learning From 3000 Incidents And How Engineering Is Changing | Marc Brooker

Sign in to Audioscrape

Share this moment