Tigran Hakobyan
I'm a software engineer working on the AI platform at Netflix. This site is the journal of my thoughts on things I find interesting — a place to make sense of work, writing, and the world.
If you're new here, start with one of the essays below. Most of what matters on this site lives in the writing.
Start here
- Working for Someone vs. Doing Your Own ThingOn the tension between a job and building your own thing.
- The Soul of Our WorkWhat meaningful work feels like when the craft still matters.
- On Writing, Parenthood, and AI's FutureWriting, family, and how AI is reshaping both.
Recent writing
- Your career after having kidsSome curious and surprising facts about you and your career after having kids.
- Looking Back to 2025Reflecting on last year and looking ahead to 2026. A year of toddler parenthood and busy work, with highlights including completing a half-ironman, starting a Substack blog, traveling to Europe, and plans for the year ahead.
- Building with Claude CodeThoughts on programming interfaces, agentic workflows, and the future of coding.
- Becoming an AI-Enhanced EngineerReflections and workflows from an engineer learning to build with AI. Everything we know about programming and building software is changing.
- On Writing, Parenthood, and AI's FutureOn finding motivation to write again, parenting, and preparing for an AI future while working in big tech.
- AI's influence on programming language trendsHow AI is influencing the popularity of programming languages by creating a positive feedback loop.
- Ideas for AI-Driven CI/CDExploring how AI and Large Language Models can transform software engineering, particularly in the development and deployment lifecycle.
- Working at big tech can be interestingThis blog post provides my firsthand perspective on working in a big tech company. It challenges common misconceptions about the lack of innovation and personal growth in these companies, highlighting the diverse opportunities, collaboration, and deep technical specialization they offer.
- Falling in Love with ProgrammingIn this personal blog post, I share my journey of falling in love with programming as a teenager in Armenia and the transformative impact it has had on my life. Through dedication, passion, and hard work, I overcame obstacles to become a "serious" programmer and encourage others to pursue their dreams in the world of coding.
- On Vartan GregorianVartan Gregorian, an influential Armenian-American academic, historian, and educator, transformed education and society through his passion, dedication, and leadership, leaving a lasting legacy and inspiring lessons for future generations.