My guest today is Arun Subash Manickam. An Engineering leader at Google.

In this conversation, Arun shares:

• his journey from Chennai schooling to computer science and a long career in networking, startups, acquisitions, and Google.
• transitions from individual contributor to manager, startup life, acquisitions, autonomy, AI, and career growth.
• learning continuously, adapting to change, and working hard with purpose as core career principles.

Highlights

• A teacher’s suggestion changed Arun’s path from commerce to computer science.
• Early Cisco work built strong engineering foundations, while startups deepened product and business understanding.
• Startup experience offers intense learning, faster execution, and visible impact.
• Moving from IC to manager requires mindset change, feedback, and self-awareness.
• Hybrid work balances flexibility with in-person collaboration and team bonding.
•  Acquisitions vary: autonomy depends on overlap, integration model, and business uniqueness.
• AI is a major productivity enabler, but domain knowledge remains essential.
• AI-generated code and documents still need clear human direction and review.
• Career advice: learn, adapt, and work hard—smartly and consistently.
• Late-career focus shifts toward impact, enjoyment, experimentation, and grounded personal practices.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/arun-subash-manickam-768b1416/

arunsubashm@gmail.com