The Proactive Engineer

#40 How I manage tech debt with AI

One of the challenges I’ve been thinking about recently is ensuring code quality at scale.

Mar 17 • Shehab Abdel-Salam

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#39 On driving initiatives

The ability to drive new initiatives is a highly valued skill for engineering.

Mar 3 • Shehab Abdel-Salam

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February 2026

#38 Claude Code 101

Getting started with Claude Code

Feb 20 • Shehab Abdel-Salam

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#37 Making better decisions as an engineer

Consequence vs reversibility in decision-making

Feb 6 • Shehab Abdel-Salam

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January 2026

#36 Looking ahead: AI in 2026

Trends I'm noticing and excited about in 2026

Jan 9 • Shehab Abdel-Salam

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December 2025

#35 Business vs Promotion-driven development

If promotion depends on complexity, guess what teams will ship?

Dec 19, 2025 • Shehab Abdel-Salam

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#34 How I use LLMs as an engineer

👋 Welcome back to the PE newsletter!

Dec 5, 2025 • Shehab Abdel-Salam

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May 2025

#33 Why You Should Read More Engineering Blogs

One of the early mistakes I made in my career was not reading engineering blogs.

May 9, 2025 • Shehab Abdel-Salam

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#32 How to Write Great Feedback

Most resources online provide a generic advice on writing feedback, like ‘be kind’ or ‘make it useful’.

May 2, 2025 • Shehab Abdel-Salam

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April 2025

#31 Documenting Software Architecture using C4 Model

Software architecture is a dynamic system that evolves over time.

Apr 25, 2025 • Shehab Abdel-Salam

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#30 Six Traits That Make a Great Founding Engineer

Traits That I Find Most Important In a Founding Engineer

Apr 11, 2025 • Shehab Abdel-Salam

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#29 How to Deliver a Backlog Refinement Session

Most engineering teams use Scrum or Kanban to track their work.

Apr 4, 2025 • Shehab Abdel-Salam

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