The Paradigm Shift: From Engineer to Engineer-Using-AI

We’re entering a new era of software engineering — one where engineers no longer write every line of code themselves. Instead, we’re becoming orchestrators of AI-driven development processes.

In this post, I’ll share one of the most important mindset shifts I’ve experienced: letting go of manual coding control and fully embracing AI as the primary engineer in the workflow.

Feel free to use this friendlink in case you don’t have a subscription.

This shift wasn’t just about productivity — it was about learning how AI coding tools like Cursor and LLMs actually work, and why manual interference often causes more harm than good.

Shifting from Engineer to Technical Product Owner Mindset

The most profound change in this transition is that I am no longer directly responsible for writing code myself. Instead, I now act as:

• the architect,
• the system designer,
• the orchestrator of tools, and
• the manager of engineering workflows.

The real coder in this setup is the AI tool — and there should be no exceptions to that. Manual interference only weakens the process.