Many people find themselves in the awkward but exciting position of leading software developers. Often, they were developers who were promoted because they were either really good or they could write and speak well. Others may have been really detail-oriented project managers with enough technical knowledge to be dangerous. Then, there is everyone else between those two extremes. Anyone in this position faces the same challenges: leading the team, working with cross-functional teams, managing up and keeping their sanity in the process. In this presentation, you’ll hear a few war stories and lessons learned that may help you as you lead your team to develop the next great application.

About the Speaker

Kevin Stewart is an Engineering Manager on the Core Technology and Platform Services team at Adobe Systems. Currently, he is working with a small team to develop an exciting new application for creative professionals working with dynamic media, which will be delivered in a Software as as Service (SaaS) model. In his career at Adobe, Kevin has focused on building tools to support application management features for the Creative Suite.

Prior to Adobe, Kevin has worked for small software companies and Web design firms. Kevin was Director of Engineering for FindWhat.com (now Miva Direct) working on search toolbars and consumer websites. He held a similar position at Passlogix, Inc. and was an original developer for their v-GO Single Sign-On product line. In the interactive space, Kevin was Director of Technology for the NY office of Red Sky Interactive where he delivered highly interactive Web applications for many customers such as Nikon and a variety of dotcoms. Prior to that, he was the Technical Director for the interactive arm of Young & Rubicam Advertising NY, Brand Dialogue with customers ranging from Fisher-Price to Pfizer to Sony. Kevin now resides in the Seattle area with his wife, son and their Boston Terrier.

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Leading Development Teams

This Refresh meeting is held at the Fremont Library, located near the Troll. Please RSVP if you'd like to attend.

And don’t forget that we’ll all head over to Blue Moon Burgers in Fremont for food and drinks after Refresh. Hope to see you there.