Site Operations at PayPal covers Incident Response, Network Monitoring, Site Reliability, and a whole lot more. Security is an ever present concern. AI and Machine Learning are disruptors on the horizon. As the person who runs the Network Command Center – the “Engine Room” at PayPal – TJ Gibson has a lot on his mind.

In this episode of Living on the Edge, TJ walks us through the complexity of running a large corporate network as part of a team of 600 engineers. We talk about the growth of Site Reliability Engineering from its early days as a “bug fixing team” to its current place at the heart of the organization, and throughout the business.

TJ has an interesting view on the three phases of a technology career, and how value is derived at each stage. From deep domain knowledge, to knowing - and being known - as a key contributor, and then taking a broader view that focuses on linking business outcomes and technology solutions. He also shares his thoughts on how SRE as a discipline will continue to grow as a career path for network engineers.

Mentors are important in any career, and TJ gives a hat tip to one of his first managers, Roy Santarella at Vigilant Minds, and also to Wes Hummel at PayPal.

Contact Details and Publications Mentioned in the Podcast
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tjgibson/
USENIX SRE Conferences:  https://www.usenix.org/srecon
Range by David Epstein: https://davidepstein.com/the-range/
Freakonomics by Levitt & Dubner:  https://freakonomics.com/books/