Engineering leadership is a balancing act. How do you scale engineering teams while ensuring quality doesn't take a backseat to speed? This challenge becomes even more complex when dealing with high-growth companies,technical debt, and evolving technologies. Tony meehan, Prequel’s co-founder and CTO, sits down with Bhavin Surela, Senior Director of Engineering at Twilio, to break down this dynamic in depth.

Bhavin shares his experiences navigating technical leadership, managing priorities, fostering team culture, and driving technical direction in such a fast-paced environment. For site reliability engineers,this discussion offers actionable insights into problem detection, strategic thinking, and incident response.

The Role of Twilio and Its Engineering Leadership

Twilio is a name often operating behind the scenes. Its cloud communications platform powers messaging, voice, and video for countless businesses. As Bhavin explained during the discussion, "If you’re not familiar with Twilio, you're probably using it without knowing." Fromenabling customer interactions to providing robust APIs for developers, Twilio is at the forefront of modern communication services.

At Twilio, Bhavin manages cross-functional teams, drives technical decisions, and ensures that scalability aligns with the company’s strategic goals. With his background in engineering, spanning key leadership roles across different organizations, Bhavin has a unique perspective on how to combine technical depth with strategic oversight.

Starting from an Accidental Career Path to Engineering Leadership

Bhavin's career didn’t follow the route many expect. Growing up in India, he shared how his early interests were focused on cricket and family-driven aspirations toward becoming a doctor. "Eventually, I stumbled into engineering almost by accident," he recounted. What seemed like a detour became a pivotal moment in his life, leading him toward a leadership role in one of the most prominent tech-driven companies.

He recalled his baptism-by-fire management experience: "My director left, the CTO put me in charge of a team of 12 to 15 people, and I had no idea what I was doing." Moments like these shaped his philosophy. He realized, "Management isn’t just about solving problems,but multiplying impact across teams."

Strategically Balancing Urgent Tasks and Long-Term Goals

The conversation explored a constant challenge in engineering leadership: resolving immediate technical fires without losing sight of long-term visions. Bhavin acknowledged that striking this balance requires sharp strategic prioritization. "Urgent fires often reveal future important matters," he said. Instead of treating them as disruptions, he examines them as signals about underlying system weaknesses.

One tool Bhavin uses to manage this balance is the Eisenhower Matrix, which separates tasks into four quadrants: urgent/important, non-urgent/important,urgent/not-important, and not urgent/not important. "I explicitly spend time in the 'important but not urgent' quadrant," Bhavin shared. This focus ensures that long-term, high-impact work gets the attention it deserves.He also tracks how team energy and efforts are distributed across different categories to refine processes over time.

For leaders, Bhavin’s takeaway is key: "Being clear on business priorities and tying urgent issues back to those priorities is critical. Otherwise, you're just firefighting without direction."

The Power of Problem Detection in Incident Management

Site reliability engineers know that quick identification of problems is foundational for maintaining uptime and reliability. Bhavin noted that reducing mean time to recovery(MTTR) starts with clear metrics. "If you're trying to measure everything, you might end up measuring nothing," he emphasized,referencing an experience where Twilio had over 150 monitors that needed optimizing.

By narrowing focus to customer-critical journeys, Bhavin's team managed to cut metrics drastically, allowing clearer insights into what mattered most. Tools like automated summarization systems and problem detection platforms also became indispensable. For example, platforms like Prequel offer real-time problem detection that integrates directly into workflows to improve reliability. Learn more about the importance of problem detection and Prequel's solutions here.

Bhavin's ethos here is simple yet powerful: don’t make decisions in isolation. "Stay connected to your business strategy and customer feedback," he suggests. This approach ensures that you address immediate problems without creating new long-term challenges.

Managing Legacy Systems While Moving Forward

Another insight Bhavin shared was on handling legacy systems. These systems often generate significant revenue but come with technical complexity. "Deprecating anything is hard, especially when customers depend on it," he admitted. Decisions around retiring, refactoring, or maintaining legacy systems frequently involve trade-offs.

Bhavin recommends a collaborative approach. "Involve both engineering and business teams to smooth the transitions and ensure alignment with current goals," he advised. Achieving empathy for users relying on legacy systems is essential. After all, systems in place for years often reflect untold customer workflows and expectations.

Fostering Leadership: Identifying and Supporting Emerging Leaders

For those scaling engineering teams, finding and nurturing talent is critical. Bhavin outlined traits he looks for when hiring engineers:

• ‍Clear communication: Distributed teams succeed on strong communication.‍
• Growth mindset: "If they can learn, they’ll thrive. Skills can always be taught," he explained.‍
• Empathy and teamwork: Building a supportive culture starts with people willing to trust and influence others.

Bhavin also looks for leadership potential beyond titles."The ability to influence without authority speaks volumes," he noted. Encouraging mentorship within his team ensures that future leaders learn through structured guidance and real-world challenges.

Experimentation and Reversible Decisions

A standout part of Bhavin’s philosophy is the value he places on experimentation. "Think like a scientist," he suggested. He avoids the pursuit of perfection in favor of iterative improvements. This experimental mindset reduces risk and allows teams to pivot quickly without overcommitting resources.

Another practice he champions is making reversible decisions. "Not everything we decide locks us in forever," Bhavin remarked. This approach encourages engineers to act decisively while maintaining the ability to iterate later. It’s a way to make quick progress without increasing risks unnecessarily.

Leveraging AI and Developer Tools

AI continues to revolutionize problem detection and productivity. Tools like GitHub Copilot help engineers move faster, but they also introduce questions about quality versus speed. Bhavin emphasized that while tools amplify productivity, the underlying expertise remains crucial."Co-pilot is great for producing code quickly, but you still need problem-solving skills to guide it," he said.

Twilio has also integrated AI into incident management, summarization, and research processes. By leveraging AI, the team reduces the cognitive load on engineers, allowing them to focus on solving complex issues.

Building Trust Through Transparency and Communication

Whether dealing with incidents or day-to-day operations,trust within teams is indispensable. Bhavin builds trust through frequent communication and presence during tough times. "Incidents happen, and being there with the team matters," he shared. This presence isn’t just about leading from the front—it’s about reinforcing shared accountability across every level of the team.

Clear and open communication ensures alignment. Regular updates and transparent reasoning behind decisions help both keep the team informed and engaged. It’s a strategy that every site reliability engineer can adopt to improve their operational success.

The Future of Engineering Teams: Taking Advantage of Changing Dynamics

As Bhavin reflected on Twilio’s future—amid emerging messaging standards, evolving regulatory considerations, and competitive shifts—staying resilient requires constant learning. He emphasized making room for thinking space: "That’s how you focus your energy on what really matters."

For growing engineering teams, tools, collaboration, and culture determine success. Learn how modern teams are adapting using strategic problem detection techniques here.

Final Thoughts

Scaling engineering teams doesn’t have to mean sacrificing quality for speed. Leaders like Bhavin Surela remind us that tools like problem detection, frameworks like the Eisenhower Matrix, and team-focused strategies pave the way. By combining clear metrics, transparent decision-making, and a culture of experimentation, engineering teams can thrive even under immense pressure.

As Bhavin aptly put it, "The challenge isn’t avoiding problems. It’s about responding to them smartly and with impact." Whether you’re building high-resilience infrastructure or tackling customer-facing features, these lessons remain timeless.

For site reliability engineers seeking actionable insights,this discussion offers a roadmap to scaling intelligently while protecting a critical focus on quality.

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Full episode is here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AU5lgV4o4JU

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