How can I grow as an engineer if I'm siloed off from the main engineering org?
I'm on a small team attached to a specific fund at a hedge fund (there are many different funds both in the main org and subsidiary orgs). Due to compliance reasons, my specific fund has been firewalled off from the main hedge fund so we don't have leaks and conflicts etc, and as a result our codebase and infra are entirely separate.
Generally, what can engineers do to grow if they've been placed on teams that operate outside the main engineering org? Is the solution just to transfer to the main org eventually?
Discussion
(1 comment)- 2a year agoTech Lead @ Robinhood, Meta, Course Hero
Generally, what can engineers do to grow if they've been placed on teams that operate outside the main engineering org?
It's really tough. 😢 In your situation, it seems like you can't organically build something (e.g. an internal tool or some other piece of infra) that you could then expand to the main org - The line between your 2 orgs is very clear.
This means that you need to make the most of your current org by doing the usual good engineer things: Expanding scope, observing those more senior than you, all that stuff. Since you're a mid-level engineer, I imagine there has to be some senior scope for you. I recommend going through these if you haven't already:
- "How do I come up with innovative, impactful ideas and bring them to my team?"
- "How can I come up with big initiatives, especially those at a Staff level?"
- Properly Learning From Software Engineers More Senior Than You
Is the solution just to transfer to the main org eventually?
This seems like the most straightforward solution. I recommend having a conversation with your manager on whether this is possible. If you build up a strong reputation in your current org, maybe you can switch over to the main one when some engineer leaves to be their backfill?
