Modern CTO · 2026-06-25 · 28 min
This is how Snapchat sets itself apart in the social media space: they’re not a social media company. Today, we're talking to Saral Jain, SVP and Head of Engineering at Snapchat, about how one of tech's most underestimated companies is quietly outpacing giants. We discuss why Snapchat has always refused to call itself a social media company and what that distinction means for every product decision they make, how AI is actually changing the day-to-day reality of software engineering through autonomous coding agents like their internal tool Casper, and why the skills that matter most in the AI era have less to do with writing code and everything to do with taste, judgment, and the willingness to raise your hand. All of this right here, right now, on the Modern CTO Podcast!
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