Steph Hippo

Enigma
DISC Type : dic

Platform Engineering Director at honeycomb.io

Seattle, Washington, United States

Overview

Steph Hippo is the Platform Engineering Director at Honeycomb, with a significant background in Site Reliability Engineering from her time at Google. Described by peers as a driven, passionate, and strong leader, she is an expert in observability and building reliable platforms. She holds a Bachelor of Science from Case Western Reserve University.

Outside of her primary role, Steph is deeply committed to mentorship, running her own career coaching service, "shippo careers, " to guide professionals in their growth. She is a working mother who shares relatable experiences about balancing leadership responsibilities with family life. Her interests include The Walt Disney Company.

She recently kicked off Season 5 of the SRE Prodcast, discussing AI, observability, and Platform Engineering.

Personality Overview

Persuasive & Assertive

Friendly Yet Blunt

Hard To Convince

They are likely to ask many questions and look heavily for supporting proof as well as information.  They are generally strong communicators and are not easy to convince. They can sound friendly and charming but can quickly change gears to become inquisitive and probing

Topics They Care About

Platform Engineering
As the Director of Platform Engineering at Honeycomb, she is a key voice in this space, recently discussing it on the SRE Prodcast.
AI Observability
She actively posts about leveraging tools like OTel and Honeycomb to measure AI adoption and make data-driven decisions.
SRE Leadership
She has a long history in SRE at Google, where she managed large teams, and continues to engage with the SRE community.

Media Appearances

The Promise of Platform Engineering with Honeycomb.io (#102). Featured in YouTube

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Work History

1-2025
Platform Engineering Director at honeycomb.io
4-2024 - 1-2025
Senior Engineering Manager at honeycomb.io
5-2023 - 2-2024
Engineering Manager at Loop
10-2020 - 5-2023
Managing Managers, Engineering Manager II at Google
5-2019 - 10-2020
Senior Site Reliability Engineer and Manager at Google

Education

2010 - 2015
Bachelor of Science from Case Western Reserve University
2007 - 2010
Honors from Altoona Area High School

More Information

Social Presence :

Prographics :

Exp : 13 Location : Seattle, Washington, United States Job Level : Mid-senior Designation : Platform Engineering Director at honeycomb.io
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Insights For Selling To Steph

During A Call Or A Meeting

DO's

  • Leverage 'negging', or the art of asking negative questions like "you must not be convinced yet..."
  • Let them lead the discussion, create opportunities for them to speak if they are not very forthcoming
  • Use a combination of data as well as stories for your pitch, a ppt might not be necessary

DONT's

  • Avoid making offhand commitments, understand the root of their concerns first
  • Avoid long presentations and just 'high-level' value proposition, dive into the details
  • Don’t brush off any concerns, take all questions seriously. They are easily deterred

When Cold Calling

When Writing An Email

While Negotiating & Closing

    The secret to closing fast with Steph is

  • Proven value, strong objective evidence are important for them, rapport can impact decisions a little.
  • Will you ever get a clear answer from Steph

  • They are practical and friendly, but can give a clear response with a little prodding

Insights For Deal Planning

    How fast (or slow) will Steph move?

  • They like to be detailed, so unless they develop strong conviction, they can take their time to arrive at decisions
  • Can Steph take some risk or not?

  • They evaluate their decisions systematically and do not take risks that often, unless you can get them to develop strong conviction

You And Steph

Personality Compatibility


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