Cost optimization has been one of my main focus areas for the past two years, and I’ve heard the same question come up multiple times: “Why should software engineers care about this?” Sure, the obvious answers revolve around maximizing profits and being more cost-effective than the competition. But there are a few less obvious reasons that often get overlooked, and they matter now more than ever. Beyond profits and competitiveness, building cost-conscious systems encourages simplicity and improves long-term maintainability. It also aligns engineers more closely with the broader goals of the business, making their work more impactful.

Context

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Over the past decade, companies got used to scaling at any cost, essentially paying people to use their platforms with the hope of capturing the market and figuring out profitability later. Big names like Uber and Airbnb are prime examples. This was driven by several factors:

• Cloud computing made it possible to scale rapidly without worrying about infrastructure
• Rapid technological advancements opened up new markets
• Era of cheap money — thanks to near-zero interest rates (a phenomenon called Zero Interest-Rate Policy, or ZIRP)

With low interest rates, traditional low-risk investments (like bonds) were less attractive, pushing more money into startups. This led to massive hiring sprees, especially during the pandemic, as everyone aimed to be the next big thing.

But things have changed. While some parts of the industry (like certain LLM startups) still operate with “growth at all costs” mentality, it’s no longer the default. So what happened, and why should software engineers care?

As the funding environment has shifted and the era of unlimited growth has given way to a focus on efficiency, companies now prioritize sustainable business practices. On top of that, finding new customers is more difficult as major new channels (e.g. social media) have quickly saturated. Similarly, advertising on platforms with strong targeting capabilities have become much more expensive.

For engineers, this means a stronger emphasis on building systems that are cost-efficient, reliable, and scalable. The expectations for engineers are evolving, and adapting to this new reality can be a game-changer for your career.

What Can You Do to Stand Out?

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Engineers who can build cost-efficient systems are becoming more valuable, as the industry shifts towards sustainable growth. Here’s how you can set yourself apart:

• Become a Product-Oriented Engineer: Learn more about the business side of things. Understanding why your company is successful helps you make better technical decisions. Get comfortable with “doing more with less.” Resource constraints can be an opportunity to innovate and find simpler solutions. Prefer simpler solutions. “Good enough” systems are usually cheaper to maintain and operate, freeing up your time for more impactful work.

• Master Cost-Efficient System Design: Cost-efficient systems are often simpler and easier to maintain (as long as you don’t go to extremes trying to squeeze out every penny). This reduces the time your team spends on maintenance and on-call, freeing up bandwidth for new projects.

• Invest in Cross-Disciplinary Skills: Being able to create scalable, cost-efficient systems requires a skill set at the intersection of software engineering, DevOps with business understanding. There aren’t many engineers who can effectively balance cost and product trade-offs, so mastering this can be a major career accelerator.

Embracing cost optimization isn’t just about saving money.It is about solving problems creatively, building resilient systems, and setting yourself apart in a competitive field. This article series will dive deeper into these aspects, including actionable steps to optimize your services.