Skip to main content

// About

Most about pages are
resumes. Not this one.

I'm Shahar Polak. I've built the teams, shipped the products, and been burned enough times to have something worth saying. Everything I recommend, I've done.

// What I do

Days: engineering leadership. Evenings: stages.

I lead engineering at Imagen AI, an AI photo-editing platform for professional photographers. That means real teams, real production, and customers who don't forgive bugs.

In parallel I speak at conferences and companies about working with AI agents, engineering leadership, technical hiring, and presentation craft. Not theory borrowed from other people's talks - the playbook from what actually happened on my watch, including the parts that burned.

// The book

I wrote the book I needed as a young manager.

A Hebrew book on engineering leadership - the hard calls, the uncomfortable conversations, and the systems that hold a team together when you're not in the room. An English edition is in the works; the waitlist is open.

See the book

// Around the site

A short map.

  • Lectures - the full catalog, with who each talk fits and what you take home.
  • Talks - recordings and past appearances, so you can judge for yourself.
  • Blog - practical, first-person guides on working with AI.
  • Appearances and Press - podcasts and media coverage.

Want me on your stage?

No gatekeepers, no assistants. Write to me and I answer within 48 hours.

Check availability