Inside Shopify's "high-intensity" engineering culture
Bill Doerrfeld | August 27, 2026
My latest DirectorPlus edition interviews Shopify's head of engineering, Farhan Thawar, on their unique internal engineering culture.
High-intensity doesn't have to mean high stress. Shopify's "high-intensity" engineering culture emphasizes weekly shipping cycles, pair programming, removing meetings, deleting code, all while leaving space to ask dumb questions and start fresh.
Had the privilege of syncing with none other than Shopify's head of engineering, Farhan Thawar, for my latest DirectorPlus edition for LeadDev.
For him, intensity is more about getting more done per hour and creating space for deep focus, rather than demanding longer hours or obsessing over performance metrics.
He shares some great perspective on Shopify's unique engineering culture. Check out the piece here:
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