Creative Engineering at Scale What Big Companies Get Wrong and Right with David Mitchell
Thu Feb 05 2026
What happens when you mix creative agency chaos with world-class engineering? You get teams that don’t just write code—they own the product.
In this episode, I’m talking with David Mitchell, CTO at VML, one of the biggest creative agencies on the planet. With thousands of engineers and global clients like Wendy’s and United Airlines, David’s teams are building things that most devs only dream of—and doing it without getting buried in bureaucracy.
We break down what it really takes to foster creative engineering inside a massive org, how to keep engineers out of the ticket-taking trap, and how AI is reshaping what engineering leadership actually looks like.
If you lead teams and want to stop micromanaging, or if you're just tired of pretending Agile is still helping... this one’s for you.
⏱️ Episode Breakdown[00:15] — What is a "creative engineer" and why don’t we have more of them?
[06:00] — Why software engineering should be creative work
[07:40] — The evolution of engineering: From basement coders to business thinkers
[11:20] — Ownership vs. ticket-taking: How VML trains teams to lead
[13:30] — Journey-Driven Development and the myth of “API-first”
[20:45] — Is AI changing how we build software—or just hyped?
[24:00] — Hackathons, prototyping, and the rise of “vibe engineering”
Links & Resources
Connect with David on LinkedIn
Product Driven - Get the Book
Subscribe to the Product Driven Newsletter
What Smart CTOs Are Doing Differently With Offshore Teams in 2025
Subscribe to the Global Talent Sprint
Full Scale – Build your dev team quickly and affordably
If you’re trying to get your team out of the basement and into real product ownership, this episode is your playbook. Stop being a ticket factory. Build teams that think, create, and lead.
Follow the show, rate it, and send this to someone who’s still trying to do “real Scrum.” They need it more than you do.
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What happens when you mix creative agency chaos with world-class engineering? You get teams that don’t just write code—they own the product. In this episode, I’m talking with David Mitchell, CTO at VML, one of the biggest creative agencies on the planet. With thousands of engineers and global clients like Wendy’s and United Airlines, David’s teams are building things that most devs only dream of—and doing it without getting buried in bureaucracy. We break down what it really takes to foster creative engineering inside a massive org, how to keep engineers out of the ticket-taking trap, and how AI is reshaping what engineering leadership actually looks like. If you lead teams and want to stop micromanaging, or if you're just tired of pretending Agile is still helping... this one’s for you. ⏱️ Episode Breakdown[00:15] — What is a "creative engineer" and why don’t we have more of them? [06:00] — Why software engineering should be creative work [07:40] — The evolution of engineering: From basement coders to business thinkers [11:20] — Ownership vs. ticket-taking: How VML trains teams to lead [13:30] — Journey-Driven Development and the myth of “API-first” [20:45] — Is AI changing how we build software—or just hyped? [24:00] — Hackathons, prototyping, and the rise of “vibe engineering” Links & Resources Connect with David on LinkedIn Product Driven - Get the Book Subscribe to the Product Driven Newsletter What Smart CTOs Are Doing Differently With Offshore Teams in 2025 Subscribe to the Global Talent Sprint Full Scale – Build your dev team quickly and affordably If you’re trying to get your team out of the basement and into real product ownership, this episode is your playbook. Stop being a ticket factory. Build teams that think, create, and lead. Follow the show, rate it, and send this to someone who’s still trying to do “real Scrum.” They need it more than you do.