Discuss Employee Spotlight – Amy

The “Discuss Employee Spotlight” is a Q&A series dedicated to showcasing all of the amazing talent at Discuss.

For this month’s profile, we talked with Amy Ramsay, Director of Engineering, who joined the Discuss team in February of 2022 and is based in Seattle, Washington.

1. Tell our readers a little bit about your role at Discuss.

I’m the Engineering Director for the Discuss engineering organization. I help solve technical problems, shape our long-term technical direction, and empower teams to build and evolve our platform. I genuinely love what I do! 

2. Which of Discuss’ core values are you most inspired by? (Empathize, Collaborate, Obsess, Out Innovate, Excel)

I really live by our Empathize core value. Technology often overlooks the human side, but working closely with our engineers helps me understand their motivations, excitement, and frustrations so I can better support them in delivering great software. Empathy is also essential when working with complex systems—you need to tune into why they behave the way they do and what the original creators intended. I also love diving deep into challenging problems and obsessing until I find a creative solution that genuinely helps our clients.

3. Tell us about your mindset and approach in your role.

I approach my role with a growth mindset because I believe that, as the engineers behind the platform that powers Discuss, we’re capable of building anything we set our minds to. We’ve delivered huge changes, been first to market with qualitative AI tools, and blended quant capabilities into a traditionally qualitative system. I truly believe no problem is too big or too intimidating to tackle. Working alongside such smart, dedicated people pushes our team to excel, and I’m always thinking about how I can grow as a leader to support and guide us through these transformations.

4. What project or initiative are you most proud of at Discuss?

AI Moderation has been one of my favorite accomplishments. We took this feature from ideation to launch in under six months with an incredible spirit of innovation. It wasn’t just a new initiative; it was entirely new technology for the team and essentially a brand-new product. It blended deep technical challenges (AI, real-time streaming in the browser) with equally important client discovery to understand what users want from conversations and what resonates with them. We learned a huge amount in a short time, including making smart pivots to meet market needs. I’m so proud of everyone involved, and the results speak for themselves—since launch, usage has increased tenfold. 

5. What is something unique about you (a fun fact) that few people know about?

I’m a huge bird person and love watching birds in their natural habitats. I find ecosystems fascinating—just like large systems, even small changes can have big ripple effects, and I enjoy observing how those shifts influence bird behavior over time. I go on regular walks around Seattle to spot different species and understand what they’re doing and why, and I’m active in the local birding community. I feel incredibly lucky to live in such a beautiful, wildlife-rich area, and I have a deep appreciation for it.