The Leanpub Podcast 🎙 Feat. Russ Miles, Author of The Sovereign Engineer
A Leanpub Podcast Interview Featuring Russ Miles, Author of The Sovereign Engineer: AI Literacy for Software Professionals
Russ Miles - Len Epp interviews Russ Miles, author of The Sovereign Engineer, about how software professionals can thrive in the age of AI. Russ argues that AI magnifies both good and bad engineering practices, introducing concepts such as habitat engineering, AI literacy, and sovereign engineering. They explore LLMs, agentic development, architecture, TDD, feedback loops, and why human judgment, curiosity, and systems thinking remain essential as AI transforms software development.
In this episode of the Leanpub Podcast, Len Epp interviews Russ Miles, author of The Sovereign Engineer: AI Literacy for Software Professionals, about what it means to build a successful software engineering career in the age of AI. Drawing on decades of experience in software architecture, distributed systems, and engineering leadership, Russ argues that AI is best understood as an amplifier: it rewards strong engineering practices while exposing weak ones. Rather than fearing AI, software professionals should develop AI literacy and cultivate the mindset of the “sovereign engineer” - someone who combines technical expertise, sound judgment, curiosity, and continuous learning to remain effective as the industry evolves.
The conversation explores topics including large language models, prompt engineering, AI agents, test-driven development (TDD), software architecture, feedback loops, and Russ’s concept of habitat engineering - designing environments that help both people and AI systems succeed. Len and Russ also discuss why human skills such as systems thinking, communication, and contextual decision-making become even more valuable as AI capabilities grow, and how engineers can use AI as a collaborative partner while retaining ownership of the problems they solve.
Whether you’re a software developer, engineering leader, architect, or simply curious about the future of programming, this episode offers practical guidance for embracing AI without losing sight of the craftsmanship, discipline, and critical thinking that define great engineering.
This interview was recorded on June 17, 2026.
The full audio for the interview is here: https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/leanpub_podcasts/334-Russ-Miles-2026-06-17.mp3. The Leanpub Podcast is available on our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/leanpub, in Apple Podcasts here https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/Leanpub/id517117137, and almost everywhere else people listen to podcasts.
Transcript
There’ll be a full transcript here one day! Note the YouTube video has complete subtitles!