The Pragmatic Engineer

The Pragmatic Engineer publishes newsletters and a podcast for software engineers and engineering managers, covering technical practice, AI engineering and the business of tech. Its deepdives examine how engineering teams work, while The Pulse analyzes industry developments and hiring trends. Free subscribers receive partial deepdives and podcast summaries; paid subscriptions add full articles, The Pulse, and resources and templates for engineers and managers. Teams can purchase group or company subscriptions.

Founder and author Gergely Orosz, previously an engineer and engineering manager at Uber, Skype/Microsoft and startups, launched the paid newsletter in 2021, following his blog’s start in 2015. His reporting draws on research and conversations with practicing engineers. One practical contribution, the Pragmatic Engineer Test, gives readers 12 questions for assessing engineering culture, including code reviews, deployment access, on-call health and career development. It helps candidates examine working conditions that job descriptions often omit.

The publication reported passing one million subscribers in 2025, including free and paid readers; it had reached 1,000 paying subscribers within six weeks of launch. Paid access costs $15 monthly or $150 annually as of 2026, with student, regional and group discounts. The newsletter carries no advertisements or sponsorships, while the podcast accepts limited sponsorships. Pragmatic Engineer BV, based in Amsterdam, publishes the business.