Meta Distinguished Eng (IC9) On Influencing Engs, Failures, and Learnings

Adam Ernst, a distinguished engineer at Meta, shares insights on his career growth and experiences in iOS infrastructure. He recounts founding his middle school software company, Cosmic Soft, and his early work on native app rewrites at Facebook. Ernst details the challenges of scaling Core Data and the development of Memmodels, emphasizing the importance of in-person communication and data-driven arguments when influencing engineers. He candidly discusses the failure of ComponentScript, a cross-platform UI framework, highlighting the need to target specific engineers and avoid compromising on key principles like data consistency. Ernst also values code review as a tool for organic influence and stresses the importance of solving problems by diving deep into systems.