I'm the CTO of a startup. Software engineering has changed so much that we've changed our hiring process. (www.businessinsider.com)

Andrew Hsu, CTO and cofounder of the AI startup Speak, has announced a significant shift in the company's engineering hiring process, embracing the rise of coding agents like Claude Code and OpenAI's Codex. Departing from traditional coding assessments, Speak now prioritizes candidates with an "agentic mindset," focusing on their ability to effectively leverage these AI tools in software development. This transition reflects a broader industry trend where 80% of routine coding tasks can now be managed by these agents, prompting a fundamental change in the role of software engineers. The new hiring framework emphasizes practical skills in working with coding agents rather than conventional coding tests, requiring candidates to demonstrate their capability in building features and problem-solving through these AI tools. Hsu articulates a distinction between two types of engineers: those who use agents to enhance speed without changing their approach ("Engineer one") and those who understand how to optimize environments for AI collaboration and improve outcomes through a feedback loop ("Engineer two"). As the AI/ML landscape continues to evolve, engineers who adapt to this new paradigm are positioned to be significantly more productive, underscoring the importance of an agentic engineering mindset for future success in the field.