Zendesk SVP of Engineering on Building High-Trust Teams in the Age of AI

In this episode of Tech Teams Today, host Matthieu McClintock welcomes Nan Guo, SVP of Engineering at Zendesk, for a wide-ranging discussion on building high-performing engineering organizations in the era of AI.Nan shares hard-won lessons from leading teams through hypergrowth and global transformation—covering everything from operationalizing AI infrastructure to building trust across time zones. She opens up about her leadership philosophy, including why psychological safety and a blameless culture are non-negotiables at Zendesk.Listeners will also hear how Zendesk approaches AI model redundancy, why trust isn’t a feature but a foundation, and how engineering metrics must evolve to reflect modern development realities. Nan gets candid about the rise of AI coding tools, the risks of “vibe coding,” and what she looks for in engineering hires today.Whether you're navigating distributed teams, hiring in a post-Copilot world, or scaling AI-powered products, this episode delivers both inspiration and tactical insight.Subscribe to Tech Teams Today on all major podcast platforms for weekly conversations with engineering leaders redefining what great teams look like in 2025 and beyond.