The Engineering
Manager's
AI Playbook
A field guide for engineering leaders navigating the AI transition
Most AI advice is written by individual contributors. This series is different.
Every engineering manager I know is asking the same questions right now. How do I evaluate AI tools for my team without getting sold by vendors? How do I convince skeptics? How do I measure ROI in a way my CTO believes? How do I hire differently when half the candidates used AI for their whole degree?
There are no good answers on the internet. Most AI content is written by developers for developers, or by executives for executives. The engineering manager — the person who has to actually execute the AI transition — is left to figure it out alone.
This playbook is for them. For us. Six parts, frameworks with names you can cite, downloadable artifacts you can use on Monday morning, and honest lessons from 20 years of shipping software at scale.
The Parts
- 1Part 1Available now
Who Is the Engineering Manager, Really?
Untangling the manager alphabet soup in Indian IT. A framework for understanding the real difference between Project, Program, Product, and Engineering Managers.
→ - 2Part 2Coming soon
The EM's AI Tool Evaluation Framework
How to actually evaluate AI tools for your team without getting sold by vendor pitches. A practical scorecard for engineering leaders.
- 3Part 3Coming soon
Rolling Out AI to a Skeptical Team
Change management for the "I'm a real engineer, I don't need AI" crowd. The Skeptic Conversion Matrix and a 4-week pilot playbook.
- 4Part 4Coming soon
Measuring AI ROI (Metrics That Actually Matter)
Beyond "we saved X hours per developer." The Value Pyramid for connecting AI investment to business outcomes.
- 5Part 5Coming soon
Hiring in the AI Era
The interview questions that separate AI-ready engineers from the rest. Rubrics, red flags, and what to do about juniors who coded their whole degree with AI.
- 6Part 6Coming soon
Your Career as an EM in the AI Era
Where engineering leadership is going in 2027-2030. The EM career ladder, the technical vs people track, and capstone advice from 20 years.
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Vinod Kurien Alex
Engineering Manager and Technical Program Manager with 20+ years building and leading software teams across B2B eCommerce, enterprise integrations, and large-scale digital transformations. Currently at Compatio. Previously at Experion Technologies, RM Education, Alamy, and Verizon.
I've managed teams through every major platform shift of the last two decades — web to mobile, monolith to microservices, on-prem to cloud, and now the AI transition. This playbook is the guide I wish I'd had for each one.