Jamin
Jan 30, 2026 - Sep 2, 2026
5
Decisions
0
Active Todos
7
Patterns
Categories
Decisions (5)
Hold the write-static-code guardrail at the 98 percent it actually buys - concede the escape case publicly and still refuse to mandate replacing third-party MCPs
At the 9/2 engineering all-hands Peter clarified the missive he had sent two weeks earlier about writing static code rather than pointing Claude at an MCP server. He gave the concrete failure it came from: someone stood up a Claude skill pointed straight at the HubSpot MCP server, and it deleted an org worth of data and 14 customers. The rule he wants: have the AI write Python or JavaScript, scope the token to exactly what that script needs, and let the skill know only that the script exists - not that the MCP server does. Jamin Collins pushed back hard and correctly - an over-helpful agent will eventually route around any tool that is not an actual guard, and once it learns it can, it will stop using the guard entirely. Peter conceded it in front of the whole org twice - he is right, he is completely right - and then held the line anyway: I do not think it is worth throwing out a pattern that works 98 percent of the time because of the 2 percent. If there is a better pattern you want to pitch, I am all for it. He named the tradeoff explicitly: the full fix is replacing each third-party MCP, which means an admin approval process per service, and I do not want to constrain our usage and our experimentation right now. Once we find that a certain set of tooling is really valuable, then it is worth investing in doing exactly that. He framed it as accepting a little bit of risk so that we can experiment as a team, and set the target as getting rid of the 100 percent failure case, not solving every edge case.
Approve Veeam-related kernel engineering headcount; run Sergei + Jamin referral in parallel
In Nathan 1:1, approved the Veeam-related kernel engineering headcount. Nathan to continue engaging Sergei despite initial salary concerns and to evaluate a new referral (former Twitter/EC2 database engineer with strong automation skills) as a parallel track.
Ryan to POC AI-driven Veeam image builder, gated on Justin-approved test suite
Ryan will POC an AI-driven image builder, starting with Veeam, that automates custom image builds, testing, and documentation. Hard gate: AI-generated images must pass a Justin-approved test suite to prevent hallucinations. Long-term vision: a 'Chipotle line' image configurator letting users compose custom, repeatable builds from validated components.
Override hiring freeze to hire Ben and Jamin for Linux engineering
Decided to bypass the company hiring freeze to bring on two key candidates: Ben (priority hire, competing with Anthropic offer) and Jamin (from Oracle, expensive but high-performing with strong ownership). Committed to sync with Mariah to clear headcount for both.
Trinity backfill for RLCAI/RLCH work, not maintenance
Use Trinitys backfill headcount to hire for RLCAI and RLCH work, not maintenance. Look for someone who can hold their own technically with Maple but will push AI adoption aggressively. Jamin identified as strong candidate - automation-first thinker, delivers and iterates, QA mindset.
Related Patterns (7)
Proactive Talent Pipeline Investment
Invest in building leadership bench and talent relationships before there is an urgent need. Use proven relationships from past experience to create optionality.
Accountability Follow-Through
When you issue a warning or mandate with stated consequences, you follow through. Warnings are not threats - they are commitments. The credibility of future accountability depends on following through now.
Executive Sponsorship for Strategic Partnerships
Strategic cross-company initiatives and major client partnerships require executive-level accountability to move at the right pace and ensure proper prioritization.
Small Circle for Sensitive Operations
When executing sensitive strategic operations, keep the circle of informed people as small as possible to prevent leaks that could accelerate hostile action or undermine the initiative.
Protect Engineering Capacity
When external demands threaten to overload engineering capacity, protect capacity by either requiring the demand to come with additional resources, or forcing hard prioritization choices upstream.
Three-Lever Talent Management
When pursuing a velocity or performance mandate, simultaneously operate on all three talent levers — upgrade (hire better), retain (protect key people), and exit (remove blockers) — rather than sequentially. This creates compounding momentum: exits free capacity for upgrades, retention preserves institutional knowledge during transitions, and upgrades raise the performance bar that justifies further exits.
Constrain the Mechanism, Not the Access
When AI or automation raises a governance concern, Peter does not restrict who or what may reach the data. He constrains HOW the reach happens, so the pathway becomes auditable and deterministic. The failure mode he designs against is non-determinism, not leakage - a wrong filter in inspectable static code is a bug you fix once, while a model that sometimes pulls the wrong field is an unbounded, unauditable liability. He will therefore accept imperfect filtering and eventual leakage as the price of adoption speed, but will not accept a non-inspectable pathway.