Inside Platform Engineering with Luke Philips
I recently sat down with Luke Philips, a staff software engineer and Platform Engineering leader, for the first episode of our new series, Inside Platform Engineering. Luke has spent years working with major companies, including The New York Times and Charter Communications, and he brought refreshing honesty to our conversation about what Platform Engineering actually looks like in practice.
One thing that really stood out was Luke’s perspective on treating platforms as products rather than projects. We discussed the need for platforms to undergo continuous investment and evolution. Just like your external products adapt to market changes, your internal platform must do the same. It’s never a checkbox you tick and move on from.
We also explored the importance of identifying and empowering internal champions. Luke described how successful platforms replicate the energy of thriving open-source communities. Finding power users or champions, gathering their feedback early, and allowing them to evangelize to the rest of the organization naturally. Platform Engineering is as much about building a community around the platform as it is about creating the technical capabilities.
During our conversation, Luke mentioned a Neal Ford quote that stuck with me - “Developers are drawn to complexity like moths to a flame, often with the same outcome” - and apart from being seen and not liking it, it serves as a good reminder to start with understanding what your developers actually need to be successful, not what tools look exciting.
If you’re building a platform, navigating adoption challenges, or simply curious about how experienced practitioners approach these problems, I believe you’ll find considerable value in this conversation. Luke’s insights come from real implementations, real failures, and real successes. Check it out at the top of this post, and be sure to visit our Inside Platform Engineering Playlist on YouTube for more discussions!
