CxC Ep31: DevEx Matters: Snowflake Gets It Right With Cortex Code - with Umesh Unnikrishnan (Snowflake)

This week on Code x Connor, we’re joined by Umesh Unnikrishnan of Snowflake to discuss the evolution from vibe coding to agentic engineering, how AI is reshaping developer workflows, and why trusted data platforms are becoming the control plane for the agentic enterprise. Umesh is the Head of Developer Experiences at Snowflake, where he's focused on building and scaling Cortex Code, Snowflake’s data-native AI coding agent, helping builders go from idea to production faster. Prior to Snowflake, he held leadership positions at Google, Microsoft, and Pinterest making complex data and AI systems intuitive for developers. He has also been an investor and operator in high-growth startups. Snowflake is powering the shift to the agentic enterprise, where AI doesn’t just generate insights, but takes action on trusted data. With tools like Snowflake Intelligence for business users and Cortex Code for builders, Snowflake serves as the control plane for enterprises bringing data, AI, and governance together in a single platform. In this episode, we discuss: → The shift from vibe coding prototypes to production-ready agentic engineering → How Cortex Code helps developers build and manage complex data pipelines faster → Why governance, auditability, and security matter for enterprise AI systems → The growing importance of context engineering and AI-native developer workflows → How Snowflake is positioning itself as the control plane for the agentic enterprise → Why APIs, markdown documentation, and command-line tooling are critical for AI agents → The rise of agent-first developer experience and AI-native software design → Why enterprises are rethinking token usage, ROI, and AI infrastructure costs → How AI is accelerating migrations from legacy systems like Oracle and SQL Server → Why the future of software development requires broader “full stack builder” skill sets → The role of monorepos, platform engineering, and scalable developer systems in the AI era Be sure to follow us to get the latest information, and schedule a meeting with us through www.codestrap.com! Snowflake Website: https://www.snowflake.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/snowflake-computing Guest: https://www.linkedin.com/in/umeshunni/ Codestrap Dorian: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dorian-smiley-97a72a14/ Connor: https://www.linkedin.com/in/connordeeks/ Ben: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjaminrogojan/ CodeStrap (X): https://x.com/Codestrap_ai CodeStrap (LI): https://www.linkedin.com/company/codestrap