Niilo is the CTO of Wolt, a subsidiary of DoorDash. In this episode, he talks to Swarmia founder and CEO Otto Hilska about lessons learned while rapidly scaling an engineering organization in the shadow of Covid.

Timestamps

(0:23) Niilo’s background (03:49) Where to focus first (06:02) Product management in a 3-way marketplace (07:36) Principles-driven development (09:18) Turning “big things” into reality (12:26) Choosing the right work (15:18) Staying close to the customer (17:26) The culture at Wolt (21:17) A high bar for excellence, driven by data (24:11) Recruiting and hiring (32:43) Growth & Growing Pains (41:30) Ownership and standardization (47:11) Niilo’s journey

Where to find Niilo

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/niilosaamanen

Where to find Otto

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hilska
Twitter: https://twitter.com/mutru

Where to find Rebecca

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rmurphey
Twitter: https://twitter.com/rmurphey

Links and mentions

Wolt: https://wolt.com/en
High Output Management: https://www.amazon.com/High-Output-Management-Andrew-Grove/dp/0679762884
Marty Cagan books: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Marty-Cagan/author/B00J21JTNM
Project Aristotle: https://rework.withgoogle.com/print/guides/5721312655835136/

Transcript at https://unblocked.fm/episodes/niilo-säämänen-cto-scaling-wolt

Scaling Engineering at Wolt with Niilo Säämänen, CTO

Engineering UnblockedBy SwarmiaJul 14, 2023