How One Founder Manages 20 AI Coding Agents at Once - Ryan Carson, Untangle
Use a manager agent to coordinate builder agents, but keep humans responsible for reviewing feature videos and approving releases.
- Track work in Linear; make each ticket one PR and let a manager session assign work by dependencies.
- Automate manager check-ins, cap builder review loops at three, and use a merge-queue manager to coordinate incoming PRs.
- For hiring, assess recorded agent work first, then use a paid 16-hour project before speaking with finalists.
The talk explains the workflows, but the transcript contains no live walkthrough beyond the description. · Best for: Engineering leaders and founders coordinating coding agents or hiring engineers.
Ryan Carson describes Untangle’s agent workflow: humans set priorities, manager sessions coordinate builder agents, and humans review recorded feature tests before approving work. He also outlines a hiring process centered on recorded agent use.
Agent org chart and ticket workflow1:55
- Humans set priorities and handle customer conversations; a manager session coordinates builder agents and does not write code.
- Use a ticket board such as Linear as the source of truth. Each ticket should correspond to one PR, with work assigned based on dependencies.
- Carson says one manager can coordinate roughly 5–25 builders, depending on the operator’s ability to keep up.
Keep agents moving and review their work3:51
- Do not manage builder sessions directly; route questions and small blockers through the manager agent.
- Use an automation to make the manager inspect every child session about every 15 minutes; do not rely on the agent to remember.
- Allow up to three builder review cycles, then escalate unresolved important bugs to the manager.
- A QA agent can test changes, but monitor merge-queue congestion. Require builders to record feature-use and test videos; a human watches before approving a release.
Coordinate parallel work8:40
- Let engineering manager sessions communicate with one another to resolve dependencies and unblock work.
- Use a merge-queue manager to coordinate conflicts such as database migration numbering, and GitHub merge queues to handle merges.
Hire by observing agent operation10:39
- Skip pre-screens and early video calls; ask candidates for a roughly 45-minute screen recording of themselves using an agent to ship a feature on an app they maintain.
- Use a ranking agent to compare submissions, then invite the top five candidates to a paid, fixed-fee 16-hour project using a company-provided Devin seat.
- Have candidates prepare a real PR for merge and record their work. Review the project recordings, select finalists, and speak with them only at the end.
Step by step
- Create a ticket board and make each ticket map to one PR; have a manager session assign work according to dependencies.
- Have the manager coordinate builder agents, and automate checks of their sessions about every 15 minutes.
- Allow up to three review cycles per builder; escalate unresolved issues and run separate QA where useful.
- Require a feature-and-test recording for each change; watch it yourself before approving the PR.
- For hiring, screen recorded agent work, invite the strongest candidates to a paid 16-hour project, then choose finalists before holding calls.
Tools & resources mentioned
- Devin — cloud coding sessions, manager and builder agents, reviews, QA/test videos, and candidate project seats.
- Linear — ticket board and source of truth for planned work.
- GitHub merge queues — coordinate and process PR merges.
- Loom — record candidate project work.
Notes are AI-generated from the video's transcript and may miss nuance.