I'm Vardan Torosyan, an engineering leader with over a decade of experience building and scaling teams, systems, and ideas. I currently work at Grafana Labs, where I focus on identity and access management, developer experience, and the intersection of security and usability.

I'm passionate about shaping strong engineering cultures - ones where people can do their best work without burning out or losing sight of what really matters. Before joining Grafana, I spent several years at SoundCloud, where I explored different paths in my career, specialized in a few domains, and eventually discovered what I truly love doing: building teams and systems that scale. Earlier still, I was part of Friendsurance, a Berlin-based startup with an innovative model that allowed users to create social circles around their insurance plans. It was there that I first started thinking deeply about how technology can empower trust, collaboration, and a sense of community.

Looking back, I've always been drawn to companies that build for and with communities. At SoundCloud, it was the global network of artists and musicians; at Friendsurance, it was people banding together around shared responsibility; and today at Grafana, it's the vibrant open source community that pushes us to do better every day.

Beyond code and systems, I'm fascinated by how people work—what motivates us, how we learn, and how we grow. I write about engineering leadership, team dynamics, and the occasional hard lesson learned the slow way. This blog is my space to reflect, share, and stay curious.