The rise of the professional vibe coder (a new AI-era job) | Lazar Jovanovic (Professional Vibe Coder)
- Source
- lennysnewsletter.com
- Author
- Lenny Rachitsky
- Date
Context
Early AI-generated prototypes can help a builder discover what they actually want to build. Lazar Jovanovic, a professional app builder at the AI app-building company Lovable, describes creating several versions while progressively adding clearer requirements and visual references. Comparing those versions gives him concrete choices about layout and behavior. He then records the chosen direction, implementation sequence, design guidance, and user journey before continuing. In his workflow, generating alternatives helps clarify the specification, while the resulting documents keep later work aligned with those decisions.
“I'm the first official vibe coding engineer at Lovable.”
Lazar Jovanovic
“I'm optimizing for the right kind of speed.”
Lazar Jovanovic
“You can hire yourself as a professional vibe coder first.”
Lazar Jovanovic
“vibe coding is just coding in 12 months from now.”
Lazar Jovanovic
“You should only be afraid if you're doing nothing.”
Lazar Jovanovic
- 00:00Introduction to Lazar and professional vibe coding
- 04:53What a professional vibe coder actually does day-to-day
- 09:26Why non-technical backgrounds can be an advantage
- 12:24The importance of self-awareness
- 14:42His "genie and three wishes" mental model
- 17:43Developing taste and judgment in the age of AI
- 21:46The parallel project approach for better outcomes
- 29:30Creating dynamic context windows with PRDs
- 36:56Why elite vibe coders focus on planning, not coding
- 44:43Creating MD files to guide AI development
- 50:57Why prototyping still matters
- 56:50Why "good enough" is no longer good enough
- 01:00:53The future of engineering in an AI world
- 01:05:14What to do when you get stuck: his 4x4 debugging workflow
- 01:14:27Helping agents learn from their mistakes
- 01:15:35Why watching agent output is more important than code
- 01:19:08The incredible pace of AI development
- 01:22:55Why emotional intelligence will become more valuable
- 01:28:30How to become a professional vibe coder
- 01:30:10Why building in public is the fastest path to opportunities
- 01:37:03Final thoughts on focusing on quality over tech stack
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