How to Build a High-Performance Engineering Team Using Culture and AI with Dominque Terry

In this episode of The Dark Arts of Team Optimization, hosts Kyle Johnson and Franz Aliquo sit down with Dominque Terry, Director of Software Engineering at V1 Sports and Owner & Software Engineer at Appaveli, LLC. Dominque shares his journey from contract Android developer to engineering leader, revealing how he helped transform a revolving door of contractors into a cohesive, high-performing team.The conversation explores leadership, engineering culture, hiring philosophy, AI-assisted development, technical decision-making, and the realities of managing legacy systems.Dominque also discusses his side projects as an independent software builder and why he believes the future of software engineering is shifting back toward systems thinking and architecture. He worked his way into leadership and now oversees the engineering organization. He has spent more than a decade building sports playbook applications and experimenting with AI-powered development tools. His leadership philosophy centers on culture, servant leadership, and hiring for personality while teaching technical skills.Expect to Learn- Why hiring for attitude and adaptability often beats hiring for specific technical skills- The challenges of maintaining legacy software without letting it destroy team morale- How to build a strong engineering culture when transitioning away from contractors- Why AI isn't replacing developers but changing how they create value- The importance of empowering engineers to make decisions and own outcomes- How engineering leaders can effectively manage priorities, trade-offs, and stakeholder expectations- Why the future software engineer may look more like a systems architect than a coderTimestamps00:00 – Teaser01:11 – Introduction of Dominque Terry02:35 – Joining V1 Sports and the Opportunity to Build From Scratch04:23 – Surviving Legacy Code and Maintaining Team Morale06:14 – Building an Engineering Team and Creating a Lasting Culture07:15 – Why Dominque Hires for Personality Instead of Technical Skills10:01 – Can You Build Strong Culture With Contractors?12:24 – Leading a Small Team When Everything Feels Urgent13:05 – AI, Productivity, and Why Smaller Teams Can Achieve More15:16 – The Power of One-on-Ones and Servant Leadership20:40 – The Flutter Decision: Lessons From a Major Technology Bet27:27 – Bottom-Up Innovation: Letting Developers Drive Tool Adoption29:06 – Creating AI Policies Without Slowing Down Development32:32 – Building Side Projects for Over a Decade: The Ave Tech Story35:36 – Where to Find Dominque and Follow His Work37:03 – Final Thoughts and Closing Remarks📱 Follow the Guest Dominque Terry:👉LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dominque-terry-a56697121/👉Company LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/v1-sports/👉Company Website: https://v1sports.com/👉Company Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/v1sports/?📱 Follow the Hosts Kyle Johnson and Franz Aliquo:👉 Kyle’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyleclaytonjohnson/👉 Franz’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/franz-aliquo/📱 Follow Holonic:👉 Website: https://www.becomeholonic.com/👉 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/becomeholonic/👉 Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@holonic👉 Instagram: https://www.tiktok.com/@holonic📱 Follow The Podcast:👉Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCg1W9it4iJByADOiZTet0RA👉Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3wHRfjI84ZxPRcENynJmyK?si=101cc3baf20d4b1c👉 Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-dark-arts-of-the-team-optimization/id1858255862