#015: Will PMs, Designers, and Engineers All Merge Into One?

The Hotfix Podcast

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#015: Will PMs, Designers, and Engineers All Merge Into One?

And what happens if they do?

The Hotfix Podcast

Jun 10, 2025

Transcript

In our latest Hotfix episode, Stefan and I explored an uncomfortable question:
Are we entering an era where a single person can do the job of an entire product team?

Today’s standard setup looks like this:

One PM, one Designer, a few Engineers. Clear swim lanes. Frequent alignment.

But with AI-native tools like V0, Lovable, and Cursor, the lines are starting to blur. You can build, design, and ship something functional—in days. Without handovers. Without standups. Without a trio.

What We’re Seeing:

PMs are suddenly able to prototype full UIs—without Figma.
Designers are writing front-end code.
Engineers are validating ideas with customers—on their own.

And maybe most important:

The best teams already don’t care whose job something “officially” is.

So… What Changes?

Stefan believes we’re moving toward “teams of one.” People who ideate, validate, build, and ship solo—with a swarm of AI agents supporting them.

I pushed back.

Time—not skill—is still the bottleneck. Especially in product roles. Aligning teams, talking to customers, and managing messy orgs isn’t something AI is good at… yet.

But we agreed on this:
The strongest teams of the future will be generalists—not specialists. People who can think across UX, code, and business. Not deep experts in one swim lane.

Who Should Be Worried?

🛑 If you only know how to execute what others define—your job is at risk.
✅ If you’re curious across disciplines and willing to get your hands dirty—you’ll be fine. Better than fine, actually.

Because the bar is rising. Fast.

🎧 Full episode: Hotfix 015 – Will PMs, Designers, and Engineers All Merge Into One?
Available on Spotify, Apple, and YouTube.