E5: How do you show "technical leadership"?

Question

I'm an E5 iOS at a Big Tech company. I'm on a project with 2 E6s (1 iOS, 1 backend) who are dominating the technical/architectural discussions. They often talk over each other. I don't have context on that part of the iOS app, since I'm ramping up on this project. How do I show technical leadership? My EM suggested I write RFCs to propose technical/architectural approaches, but this is difficult to do without proper context. I've been taking meeting notes and keeping the team's docs organized, but I'm not sure if this counts as leadership.

Rahul Pandey · Accepted Answer

Technical leadership can mean a lot of different things, and the exact definition will depend on what the needs of the org are. Given that you're on a team with 2 E6s, you probably don't have the abilty to offer novel ideas. Instead, the opportunity for you to show technical leadership could involve:

Identify and mitigate potential risks
Document the pros/cons of various approaches and collect input from other teams
"Own" the decision. Create a timeline and get people involved to hit that timeline.

Figure out which of these is more feasible and pursue that. (Involve your EM and the E6s in that discussion)

Finally, I'd point you to Alex's great guide on the E4->E5 expectations at Meta. It's not directly applicable in your case but may help. Meta E4 To E5 Growth Plan (Pretty Applicable To Any Large Company)
How To Get The Most Out Of Mentorship

E5: How do you show "technical leadership"?

Discussion