New data science tools & old laptops on fire | Jenny Bryan | Data Science Hangout
ADD THE DATA SCIENCE HANGOUT TO YOUR CALENDAR HERE: https://pos.it/dsh - All are welcome! We'd love to see you!
We were joined by Jenny Bryan, Senior Software Engineer at Posit, to chat about (setting laptops on fire,) adapting careers to embrace change and new technologies, behind-the-scenes technical advancements powering the R ecosystem with tools like Positron, demystifying project-based workflows, plus LLM integration and best practices in programming.
Listen to this episode to hear us chat about topics like this:
- the benefits and limitations of using Large Language Models (LLMs) in programming. Jenny shared her initial skepticism towards LLMs for coding in R, but her attitude changed significantly when applying LLMs to problems involving languages she was less familiar with, like Rust or TypeScript.
- adapting in your career to embrace change and new technologies. Jenny, who describes herself as being on a "third career", transitioned from management consulting to a statistics professor, and then to a senior software engineer at Posit. She talks a bit about her career journey and how she's embracing new stuff (ahem, Typescript) so that she gets to keep doing cool stuff!
- Positron IDE for R package development. She specifically praises Positron's unique test explorer and reliable console, and its integrated Data Explorer. For many, Positron offers out-of-the-box data science functionality, unlike other IDEs that require extensive customization.
- what new technologies like Ark, Air, and Positron mean for the longterm health of R. Jenny's been working on lots of nerdy things behind the scenes at Posit and she talks all about how they're great for developers, package builders, data scientists, and engineers alike.
Another tidbit from this hangout: Jenny gave some advice for those looking to branch into software engineering without formal training: try reading code from admired developers, inviting code reviews, and undertaking small, recreational package development projects to gain practical experience and confidence. She also advocates for adopting a project-oriented workflow (associated with her famous "laptop on fire" remark, of course) using tools like the here package for managing project paths.
Resources mentioned in the video and zoom chat:
Positron IDE → https://positron.posit.co/
Happy Git with R → https://happygitwithr.com/
Jenny Bryan's "Project-oriented workflow" blog post → https://www.tidyverse.org/blog/2017/12/workflow-vs-script/
Air R code formatter → https://posit-dev.github.io/air/
The here() package → https://here.r-lib.org/
Posit Conf → https://posit.co/conference/
Tidy Dev Day 2025 → https://www.tidyverse.org/blog/2025/07/tdd-2025/
R Packages book → https://r-pkgs.org/
If you didn’t join live, you missed a ROARINGLY active chat. Let's just say, if you've ever broken down in tears over a programming project, you're not alone! Come join us live each week if you'd like to hang out in the chat with us!
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Timestamps
00:00 Introduction
03:39 "Is that a Wooble on your desk?" (Spoiler, it's a gnome!!)
06:23 "As a builder of data science tools, what are the tool features data scientists want most?"
08:43 "Have you experienced needing to adapt to change recently and how have you embraced it?"
13:46 "What is 'setting laptops on fire' about?"
13:50 "How did you decide to change your career a few times?"
21:23 "What are your thoughts on the ease of putting models into production in Python versus R and does it make sense to shift everybody to one language or the other?"
27:30 "How do you navigate the 'I have a hammer so everything looks like a nail' feeling when working with emerging tools like LLMs?"
33:24 "Do you have any general advice for those data scientists who find themselves wanting to branch out more into software engineering but don't have formal training?"
39:39 "Why should I use Positron instead of Versus Code?"
47:57 "Can you speak to the value of developing an R package and how to clear the mental hurdle of it being a huge challenge?"
52:34 "What does your career trajectory look like and what is your advice for other people who are looking to grow their career but don't know if they want to be an IC or a manager? Does being a manager mean you don't get to write code anymore?"
air
Positron
tidyverse
tidyverse.org
