Abstract
In today’s complex engineering landscape, Staff+ engineers, architects, and technical leaders can no longer operate solely as technical experts. The most effective leaders shape not just systems of code, but sociotechnical systems— the interplay of architecture, team dynamics, culture, and organizational structures.
This talk explores how these senior roles can embrace a Holistic Engineering mindset, acting as architects of sociotechnical systems. Attendees will discover practical strategies to influence team practices, organisational norms, and architectural decisions to foster sustainable engineering, resilient software, and long-term impact. By aligning technical choices with human and organisational realities, Staff+ engineers and technical leaders can drive meaningful, lasting change.
Speaker
Vanessa Formicola
Principal Architect @Prima (insurtech), Previously Flo Health and Thoughtworks
Principal Engineer at Flo, ~15 years of industry experience (Microsoft/ThoughtWorks) and 5+ years in leadership roles. Experienced with high scale backend systems, legacy modernization and infrastructure as code across multiple domains and tech stacks.
Primarily focused on transformation of software systems and enablement of teams with varied backgrounds. Experienced working with distributed global teams (multi-tz).
Creator of knowledge sharing/D&I communities, public speaker and social change advocate; cofounder of ShareIT and Intertwined Arts.
