Mozilla Firefox CTO on Browser War Stories and the Path to Distinguished Engineer

Bobby Holley went from an intern to the CTO of Mozilla Firefox. I asked him about everything he learned in that process. We cover his full career including some interesting stories on living through the browser wars and advice on career growth.

𝗣𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸𝘀:
• Transcript: developing.dev/p/mozilla-firefox-cto-on-browse…
• Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/0MX9PyeCzDhdlyRv6slwIX
• Apple: podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-peterman-pod…

𝗘𝗽𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗱𝗲 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗸𝘀:
• NYT article link: livemint.com/Industry/q2EjgGX6d5Ouwec479WSqM/F…
• Mozilla VP twitter thread: computerworld.com/article/1722183/former-mozil…
• Internal memo on writing: docs.google.com/document/d/1518xKjijjEWHQb6wZj…

𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗺𝗽𝘀:
00:00:00 - Intro
00:00:57 - Starting at Mozilla
00:04:57 - Browser wars history
00:10:55 - Google relationship changing
00:16:11 - Why work for free
00:19:02 - Projects that drove his career
00:33:12 - No performance reviews
00:34:42 - Rust adoption
00:43:33 - Career progression
00:47:54 - Should you focus on promos
00:57:14 - Distinguished promo rejection
01:00:56 - Examples of distinguished engs
01:10:54 - Advice for aspiring distinguished engs
01:14:40 - AI browser wars
01:26:32 - Biggest technical regret
01:29:11 - Book that impacted his career most
01:32:09 - Advice for his younger self

𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗕𝗼𝗯𝗯𝘆:
• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/bobbyholley
• X/Twitter: x.com/bhology

𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝘆𝗮𝗻:

• Newsletter: developing.dev
• X/Twitter: x.com/ryanlpeterman
• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/ryanlpeterman
• Threads: threads.com/@ryanlpeterman
• Instagram: instagram.com/ryanlpeterman
• TikTok: tiktok.com/@ryanlpeterman