In this episode of Elixir Wizards, Charles Suggs and Emma Whamond are joined by Ellyse Cedeno, founder of Heuristic Salvo and a software engineer and product leader with more than 25 years of experience across early internet platforms, gaming, health tech, and distributed systems.
Ellyse shares the winding path that took her from early search engines and Netscape to game development, medical research at Mount Sinai, and eventually to Elixir. Along the way, she talks about staying curious over a long technical career, rediscovering joy through side projects, and why being willing to feel like a beginner again can be one of the most useful skills a developer can build.
The conversation explores what it means to grow as an engineer in a world where AI tooling is becoming part of the everyday workflow. Ellyse makes the case that technical skill still matters, but the human parts of software development (like judgment, curiosity, communication, trust, and influence) are becoming increasingly important.
We also talk about soft influence and how developers can create change inside organizations without relying on hard authority.
Key Topics Discussed in this Episode:
Ellyse’s career path through early internet platforms, gaming, health tech, and distributed systems
Moving from Netscape and search engines to medical research and software consulting
Discovering Elixir through an interest in concurrent and distributed systems
Why beginner’s mindset still matters after decades in tech
How neurodivergence, curiosity, and deep focus shape Ellyse’s approach to programming
Rediscovering joy in programming through side projects and experimentation
Building an MMORPG game server in Elixir
Exploring hardware, Nerves, and live theremin demos
The role of passion projects in professional growth
Protecting time for learning in productivity-focused environments
Work-life balance differences between the U.S. and Europe
How AI tools are changing expectations for modern developers
Why AI does not replace judgment, taste, or technical understanding
Understanding business needs instead of only focusing on technical preferences
Introducing Elixir into a TypeScript-heavy organization
Using Elixir microservices to solve specific technical problems
What “soft influence” looks like in engineering teams
Building trust through one-on-one conversations
Knowing when influence is working and when it is not
Negotiating technical decisions without turning them into power struggles
The relationship between technical competence and interpersonal skill
Managing imposter syndrome during pair programming and collaborative work
Documentation as a visibility and ownership tool
Community involvement, conference speaking, and finding your people
Staying curious without burning out
Why the human side of software development still matters
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