What does it take to build a successful career in software engineering when technology is changing faster than ever?

In this episode of the NY Professional Spotlight Podcast, Roman Kirzhner speaks with software engineer Aviral Srivastava about his career in technology, the importance of strong technical fundamentals, and how artificial intelligence is changing the way software engineers work.

Aviral shares how his interest in programming started when he was only eight or nine years old. That early curiosity eventually developed into a career in software engineering and infrastructure. His professional experience has included work at Affirm, Pinecone, Twitter (now X), and Atlan.

Aviral explains why breaking large problems into smaller ones has been such an important part of his approach to engineering. He also discusses why good software is not only about computers. It is ultimately built for people, which makes thoughtful system design, communication, and long-term usability important.

Roman and Aviral also explore one of the biggest questions facing technology professionals today: Will AI replace software engineers?

Aviral shares a practical view. He sees AI as a powerful tool that can improve productivity, but he also believes engineers still need to understand the fundamentals behind the work. Rather than simply asking AI for an answer and applying it, professionals need enough knowledge to understand the problem and guide the technology.

The conversation also covers an important lesson Aviral has learned as his career has grown: technical ability alone is not enough. Communication becomes increasingly important when engineers begin working on larger and more complex problems. Being proactive, setting expectations, and communicating timelines can have a major impact on a team.

Aviral also shares his personal approach to investing and financial planning, including why he prefers a simple, long-term approach rather than depending heavily on speculative investments.

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How can technology and AI help improve cancer care while keeping people at the center of the process?

In this episode of the NY Professional Spotlight Podcast with Roman Kirzhner, Roman speaks with Kyu W Hwang, a technology leader at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK). Kyu leads software engineering teams that build technology solutions for researchers, clinicians, and patients.

For Kyu, this work recently became deeply personal when his mother was diagnosed with gastric cancer. Her experience gave him a new view of healthcare from both the patient and caregiver side. He shares how technology helped reduce friction during her journey, from processing medical records to digital pathology and access to treatment.

Kyu also discusses the growing role of artificial intelligence in software engineering and healthcare. Rather than seeing AI simply as a replacement for people, he sees it as a tool that can help technology teams accomplish far more. At the same time, he stresses the importance of human oversight, especially in healthcare, where trust and patient safety matter.

Roman and Kyu also discuss what tomorrow’s technology professionals will need to succeed. Technical knowledge remains important, but creativity, communication, adaptability, collaboration, and other human skills are becoming increasingly valuable.

For leaders, Kyu shares another important lesson: leadership does not mean being the smartest technical person in the room. It means trusting talented people, listening to their expertise, being authentic, and building the kind of relationships that people want to follow.

The conversation also explores one of the biggest challenges in technology: successful change requires more than building a great system. People must understand it, accept it, and change how they work. That makes communication, partnership, and change management essential parts of technology leadership.

Kyu is especially excited about the potential for AI to help researchers make better use of complex cancer data and open new possibilities for research, drug discovery, and treatment.

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What happens when the career path you worked hard to build no longer feels like the right one?

On this episode of the NY Professional Spotlight Podcast with Roman Kirzhner, Roman sits down with Dr. Jack Bulat, a double board-certified physician specializing in anesthesiology and pain medicine who also practices interventional vein medicine.

Jack shares the unusual path that brought him to medicine. After studying chemistry and entering a PhD program at the University of California, Berkeley, he realized that research was not giving him the sense of purpose he wanted. Making a major career change was not easy, but with guidance from mentors, Jack made the decision to leave the PhD track and pursue medicine.

That decision eventually took him to the University of Pennsylvania for medical school, NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell for residency, and Brigham and Women’s Hospital for fellowship training.

Roman and Jack also discuss one of the most important parts of medicine: trust. An anesthesiologist may have only a few minutes to meet a patient, explain what will happen, and help that person feel safe before a procedure. Jack explains why kindness, communication, confidence, and attention to detail are so important during those first few minutes.

The conversation also explores planning for financial independence as a physician, knowing when to seek professional financial guidance, and why professionals should think about future income long before they are ready to slow down.

Finally, Jack shares an important lesson about mentorship. Finding a great mentor is only half of the relationship. Jack believes mentees need to take an active role by staying connected, asking questions, and taking initiative.

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