Agentic AI is reshaping platform engineering at Squarespace

Bill Doerrfeld | March 27, 2026

"You gotta use the tools," says Squarespace's Jon Thornton in my latest DirectorPlus edition for LeadDev

Platform engineering is being redefined in the AI era: less shared code, slimmer platforms, more focus on developer experience.


"We're starting to move away from the idea that shared code itself is valuable and saves people time," says Jon Thornton, director of engineering at Squarespace.


Had the pleasure of syncing with Jon for the latest DirectorPlus via LeadDev. Very interesting to to see how agentic AI is reshaping platform engineering.


At Squarespace, platform engineers are owning more migration work across teams. With AI velocity, developers can spin up code on demand, but there's also a greater need to deprecate more often too.


Check out the full article here.


I've been a Squarespace user for passion projects over the years, so it was really cool to get to talk with someone on the backend of it!


If you're an engineering leader, definitely consider signing up for DirectorPlus for a monthly check-in with an experienced director, VP, or CTO on a new subject!

Read: Squarespace redraws the boundaries of platform engineering

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