Engineering Leaders AMA with Mary Moore-Simmons (VP of Engineering @ Keebo) & Dirk de Kok (Staff Engineer @ Orkes) - Leopard.FYI
- Date
- 2025-08-14
- Host
- Leopard.FYI for Women & Non-Binary Software Engineers
About this event
If you care about how strong engineering teams are actually led, this AMA is a rare chance to ask candid questions in the room with people doing the work at a high level. You’ll hear from Mary Moore-Simmons, VP of Engineering at Keebo, and Dirk de Kok, Staff Engineer at Orkes in a conversation designed to be practical, direct, and useful for real career and leadership decisions. Whether you’re leading teams today, growing into technical leadership, or figuring out what great engineering organizations look like from the inside, this session gives you access to perspective that’s hard to get from articles or polished conference talks. The value here is simple: thoughtful answers, real discussion, and a community of people who care deeply about engineering leadership. About the Event This is an in-person Engineering Leaders AMA hosted by Leopard.FYI, built around open questions and honest discussion. The format creates space for attendees to ask what they actually want to know about leadership, team dynamics, technical decision-making, and career growth in engineering. Unlike a one-way presentation, an AMA works best when the room is curious and engaged. That means the conversation can move from big-picture topics like org design and engineering culture to day-to-day realities like prioritization, cross-functional communication, mentoring, and operating as a senior technical leader. With both a VP of Engineering and a Staff Engineer participating, attendees get two useful vantage points: organizational leadership and senior individual contributor leadership. That combination is especially valuable if you want to understand how strategy, execution, and technical depth connect inside growing engineering teams. Expect a community-oriented atmosphere rather than a formal lecture. The event sits at the intersection of meetup, networking, and practical learning, making it a strong fit for people who want both insight and conversation. What to Expect The core of the event is live Q&A, so the discussion will likely follow the interests of the room. That makes it a good setting for nuanced questions that don’t have generic answers. If you’ve ever wanted to ask engineering leaders how they actually handle tradeoffs, influence, hiring, scope, architecture, or team health, this is the right format. You can expect a mix of: AMA-style discussion with Mary Moore-Simmons and Dirk de Kok Perspective from both leadership and senior IC roles Questions from the audience shaped by real engineering challenges Networking before, during, or after the session with other attendees interested in engineering leadership Topics may span areas such as: Building and scaling engineering teams Navigating the path from engineer to manager or senior IC leadership Aligning technical decisions with business priorities Communicating across functions and levels of seniority Mentorship, growth, and career development in engineering What experienced leaders look for in strong teams and strong engineers Because this is in person, the experience should feel more interactive and conversational than a webinar or recorded panel. You’ll have the chance to read the room, hear follow-up questions, and connect with others who are wrestling with similar challenges. Why Attend The biggest reason to attend is access to practical thinking from experienced engineering leaders. It’s one thing to read broad advice online; it’s another to hear how senior people reason through tradeoffs in real time, especially when the questions come from practitioners in the room. This event is also useful because it brings together people across different stages of engineering leadership. If you’re early in your path, you can get a clearer picture of what growth looks like. If you’re already leading, you can compare notes, pressure-test your own instincts, and leave with a sharper sense of how others approach similar challenges. You should come if you want to: Ask direct questions in a setting that welcomes them Learn how senior leaders think about team, systems, and execution Better understand the differences and overlap between management and senior IC leadership Meet peers who care about engineering craft, growth, and leadership There’s also value in the room itself. Events like this often help attendees realize that the hard parts of engineering leadership are widely shared: managing ambiguity, making tradeoffs, influencing without authority, and helping teams do excellent work consistently. That shared context can make the conversations more useful and the networking more relevant. Practical Details This event is in person, which makes it a strong choice if you prefer high-signal conversations and more natural networking than online formats typically allow. You’ll be able to engage directly with the speakers and meet other attendees face to face. When: Thursday, August 14 at 4:00 PM PDT Format highlights: In-person community event AMA-style discussion Networking-friendly setting Relevant for engineering leaders, senior engineers, and growth-minded practitioners If you plan to attend, come ready with a few thoughtful questions. The more specific your question, the more useful the answer is likely to be—not just for you, but for everyone in the room. This is the kind of event where preparation pays off. If you’ve been looking for a grounded, high-value engineering meetup that blends leadership insight with real community conversation, this is exactly that.
Who should attend
This is for you if you want sharper thinking on engineering leadership, career growth, and how strong technical organizations really operate. - You’re an **engineering manager, director, or team lead** who wants to compare approaches on team health, decision-making, execution, and leadership. - You’re a **senior or staff-level engineer** thinking deeply about influence, technical leadership, cross-functional collaboration, and long-term career growth. - You’re considering the path between **management and senior IC leadership** and want clearer insight into how those roles differ and where they overlap. - You’re an **engineer with leadership ambitions** who wants to ask candid questions and learn from people operating at a high level. - You value **interactive, in-person discussion** more than passive listening and want the chance to ask questions that are specific to your situation. - You want to meet a **community of thoughtful engineering professionals** who care about leadership, team building, and doing excellent technical work.