Maria Rodriguez

Head of Engineering

Maria leads engineering at DevPass. She's a former staff engineer at GitHub and has interviewed over 500 candidates.

25 articles

Technical Interviews12 min read

The Complete Technical Interview Study Plan (2026 Edition)

A structured 12-week study plan covering algorithms, system design, and behavioral interviews.

March 28, 202612 min read

Engineering7 min read

Clean Code Principles Every Developer Should Know

Writing code is easy. Writing clean code takes discipline. Here are the principles that matter most.

March 24, 20267 min read

Technical Interviews9 min read

System Design Interview Prep: A Developer's Guide

System design interviews test your ability to think at scale. Here's how to prepare and common questions to practice.

March 22, 20269 min read

Developer Portfolio6 min read

What to Include in Your Developer Portfolio (With Examples)

Not sure what belongs in your portfolio? Here's a complete checklist with real examples from hired developers.

March 18, 20266 min read

Remote Jobs6 min read

Working Across Time Zones: A Developer's Survival Guide

Async communication is the backbone of remote work. Here's how to thrive in a distributed team.

March 18, 20266 min read

Engineering8 min read

Microservices vs Monolith: Making the Right Architectural Choice

The debate continues. Here's a pragmatic framework for choosing the right architecture for your project.

March 16, 20268 min read

Open Source8 min read

Maintaining Popular Open Source Projects: Lessons Learned

Maintaining an open source project is rewarding and challenging. Here's what we've learned from running popular repos.

March 14, 20268 min read

Developer Careers6 min read

Switching from Web to Mobile Development: What You Need to Know

Thinking about moving from web to mobile development? Here's what's different, what transfers, and how to position yourself for mobile roles.

March 10, 20266 min read

GitHub5 min read

Using GitHub as a Portfolio: Showcase Your Best Work

Your GitHub profile is already your best portfolio. Here's how to make it work for you.

March 10, 20265 min read

AI Hiring6 min read

Can AI Conduct Fair Technical Interviews?

AI-powered interview platforms promise consistency and scale. But can they eliminate bias?

March 10, 20266 min read

Hiring7 min read

The Resume Is Not a Signal: Why Technical Hiring Is Broken

Resumes convert years of engineering work into keywords. Here's how we quantify what actually matters for hiring.

March 8, 20267 min read

Technical Interviews5 min read

How to Handle Take-Home Coding Assessments

Take-home assessments are increasingly common. Here's how to stand out without spending weeks on them.

March 1, 20265 min read

Startup7 min read

Pre-Seed to Series A: Engineering Team Growth at Each Stage

How engineering teams grow through each funding stage, and what to prioritize at each phase.

February 28, 20267 min read

GitHub6 min read

GitHub Actions for Your Job Search: Automate Your Portfolio

Use GitHub Actions to automatically update your portfolio, resume, and other job search assets.

February 26, 20266 min read

ATS6 min read

Why Your Resume Gets Rejected by ATS (And How to Fix It)

90% of resumes never reach a human. Here are the most common ATS rejection reasons and exactly how to fix each one.

February 25, 20266 min read

Engineering7 min read

Monitoring and Observability: A Practical Introduction

You can't fix what you can't see. Here's a practical guide to monitoring your applications effectively.

February 18, 20267 min read

AI Hiring6 min read

AI vs Human: What Makes Developer Hiring Most Effective

The best hiring processes combine AI efficiency with human judgment. Here's how to find the right balance.

February 14, 20266 min read

Developer Careers6 min read

Remote vs In-Office: Which Is Better for Your Developer Career?

Both options have tradeoffs for your growth. Here's how to decide based on your career stage and goals.

February 10, 20266 min read

Remote Jobs6 min read

Async Communication: The Superpower of Senior Remote Engineers

The best remote engineers communicate asynchronously by default. Here's how to master this critical skill.

February 10, 20266 min read

Startup6 min read

Technical Debt vs Speed: How Startups Should Think About Code Quality

Startups need to move fast, but technical debt compounds. Here's a framework for making the tradeoff wisely.

February 10, 20266 min read

Engineering7 min read

Testing Strategies for Modern Web Applications

A comprehensive testing strategy balances speed, confidence, and coverage. Here's how to build one.

February 3, 20267 min read

Open Source9 min read

From User to Maintainer: My Journey Contributing to Next.js

One developer's journey from filing bug reports to becoming a core maintainer of a major framework.

February 2, 20269 min read

ATS6 min read

The Hidden Costs of Relying on ATS for Hiring Decisions

ATS systems are designed for efficiency, not accuracy. Here's what companies miss when they rely too heavily on them.

January 20, 20266 min read

Hiring7 min read

The Cost of a Bad Hire: Why Speed Shouldn't Trump Quality

A bad engineering hire can cost 6-12 months of productivity. Here's how to balance hiring velocity with quality.

January 8, 20267 min read

Hiring5 min read

Hiring Managers: Stop Asking These 5 Interview Questions

These common interview questions waste time and reveal nothing useful about candidates. Here's what to ask instead.

November 28, 20255 min read