Evan Hourigan

Over my career, I've led engineering teams where about 90% of people chose to stay. That comes from day-to-day reality: meaningful work, clear expectations, and a culture where people can do good work without walking on eggshells. That didn't happen by accident. It came from steady leadership, direct communication, and building an environment where people can focus and get better together.

What I Believe

AI isn't about sprinkling a tool on top of the process. It changes how we build software, and it changes what teams need in order to move fast without getting sloppy.

Most "AI enablement" focuses on tools and workflows. I focus on the people side: how teams review changes, make decisions, and keep quality steady once AI is in the mix.

Great teams are built, not hired. You can't recruit your way into a great culture. You have to create an environment where smart people can do their best work, and then remove the friction that gets in their way.

Retention is a real signal. When people want to stay, something is working. When they're running for the exits, no amount of process tuning will fix the underlying problem.

What I'm Doing Now

Right now I work with engineering leaders whose AI rollouts are stalling for human reasons that often get conflated with technical ones. I figure out what's actually going on and fix it. Sometimes that's a few weeks, sometimes a few months. I've been writing about these patterns in depth, and if any of it sounds familiar, I'd like to talk.

Outside of work

I swing dance. I started less than a year ago and ended up performing publicly about nine months in. I like steep learning curves and fast feedback loops. It's the same way I work with teams: clear standards, lots of reps, and calm execution when it counts.