Engineering Management Q&A and Videos

Which path to choose after spending 5+ years as a developer in product based company??

What are the factors to consider or questions to ask myself before choosing the path??

Please Suggest.

Trying to decide about taking an IC role I received in big tech (my first one! Thanks, Alex and Rahul!). I'm very excited about it except that I'm concerned about whether I'd still have the option to be an EM again someday, if I took this offer (I am an EM in a very small company now).

Do you think someone with this resume/background would still have a shot at EM roles? Doesn't need to be FAANG or big tech, but EM roles in at least mid-tier companies.

My resume would look like this, in this order:

• 12 YOE as software engineer and senior software engineer in small non-brand-name companies (no modern tech or working at scale). I did lead some teams of 6-9 people for about two years during this time (some EM jds will count that toward management experience)
• 1.5 YOE as software manager/director managing three then six people in a small non-brand-name company (got role through internal promotion) (little modern tech, no distributed systems or working at scale, not a great management culture in this company, management is very casual, I have a lot of exposure to the overall business, though)
• 1 or more YOE as a senior engineer at a big tech company (first work experience working at scale with distributed systems and modern tech, mentor team members, manage an intern or two if allowed, work on management- and impact-related goals with manager, options for impact in the org)

There are actually lots of EM roles requiring experience with distributed systems, microservices, large-scale consumer-facing products, modern tech, etc. I don't meet the basic requirements for these roles now but would meet them after working as an IC in big tech.

I am an L5 TL, of a team of less than 10 people. My manager very recently asked me whether I am interested in becoming an EM (managing most if not all of the people on my team).

I like coding and technical contributions, but I believe I like helping people succeed more, including having crucial conversations where things aren't going well. Those things don't come naturally to me, BUT I get great satisfaction out of those tricky situations. I would also like the opportunity to build a team of amazing individuals who come together around a central goal. Based on this I am leaning yes.

However, I know the EM path isn't all roses. What are the top 3 questions I ought to consider, before I decide whether I want to do this?

Hey,

I have 12+ years of experience and would like to move to management ladder. I have been working with my manager for over a year to get there.

Couple weeks ago I got to know that my manager is leaving the company. I am worried that with his departure all the effort I put in over the last one year would be wasted. My manager mentioned that he has recommended me as his potential replacement to his skip(Director) but he(manager) is not sure if the company will back-fill the position or not.

My departing manager gave me the following suggestions so that I stay on track with my career goals:

• Have regular conversations with the skip(Director) and VP so that they know I am very much interested in moving to leadership positions
• Keep HR folks in the loop too, so that they can spot/help me with any managerial positions opening up outside of my org(different team in the company)

I have monthly skip level 1:1 & have mentioned this interest of mine(moving to management ladder) to him.

I am not sure how frequently should I talk to VP & HR as well as how to bring this career aspiration of mine to their notice. Should I have monthly sync's with VP & HR personnel too?

I have been generalist my whole career, I have moved from front end web development --> platform as a service web development --> microservices cloud development and now as a ML engineer, all on different tech stacks. I am pretty late in career now, 12-15 years in. What do you recommend, in terms of going forward, do I have a chance with trying to be a staff, or should I switch to PM/EM role? I would eventually want to be a good EM.

Say i want to automate an e2e test for a complex user journey of my web application, i assume that test should automate on a running system and interact with the system like real user (so, no mocking whatever).

How do we create and manage test data? Should automate the creation of test data as well? or ? Please advise.

Can you give an example for this case: a user buying a product, goes through the checkout process with real payment using Paypal?

Hello Everyone, I have 16+ years of Software Engineering and 6+ years of Engineering management experience. I have worked in 14 different companies (ranging from startups to FAANG --> ). And I really enjoy helping engineers grow, building teams and fostering the team culture.

Currently I am an Engineering Manager at Meta and I am interested to prepare a course that will benefit the highest amount of people on this platform.

Could you please pick the course (just comment with 1-10 number or suggest your title) from this list that you would like Taro to have:

1. Top 10 secrets of becoming an engineer managers like
2. How to be the top engineer of the team?
3. How to become an engineer that grows faster than anyone?
4. How to be an ideal engineer that manager wants to promote?
5. Top 10 mistakes engineers are usually doing in communication with their managers
6. The Hidden Pitfalls in Engineer-Manager Communication (and How to Avoid Them)
7. What Your Manager Wishes You Knew: Essential Communication Tips for Engineers
8. Cracking the Code of Manager-Engineer Communication: Common Mistakes and Solutions
9. How To Transition To M1
10. How To Be A Strong M1

Does working in different area - infra, developer experience, product, backend, frontend over the career period hurt in terms of becoming/staying a staff engineer or manager?

I used to be an engineering lead at a well-known European fintech, where I had a good career growing from new grad to lead in 3 years. After a couple of years there, I left to travel. The initial goal after coming back was to prep interviews and aim for an IC role in a faang, potentially targeting a company that could help me move to the US (as a non-US citizen).

While doing so, I accepted a short-term consulting gig to audit the tech team of a small B2B food company (~7 figure revenue) that was recently acquired by a fund. They have a technical side, offering a POS platform to their clients, and have a small (3-person) tech team (and significant tech debt).

The business is struggling (declining revenue, but still profitable) and a new leadership team is working to turn the company around. I helped them structure their technical team and helped with some hands on work (e.g modernising ci/cd to move releases from once a month to after every merge etc). My recommendations were well received, and they’ve now offered me a strong equity package to stay on as lead.

I feel torn about the offer. I am weighing it against my initial goal and I'm unsure of how such a move (to a lead role in a non technical SMB) would be seen by future recruiters or hiring managers - especially if I'd like to become an IC again eventually in a faang company.

I'm intrigued because the role is somewhat entrepreneurial and hands on as there is lots to be done to make the business run well again. My concern is that the tech side of things is not very advanced and low scale, and that it may set me back if I want a role as an IC in a much more technical place. Especially given that I progressed to a lead position very quickly in my previous company - I'm worried that not getting more pure hands-on IC experience to level up might eventually slow me down in my career.

Curious to get some different perspectives and would appreciate any advice!

Thank you

In a previous team and organisation I had 3 different reports.

Lvl 5, lvl 4 & a lvl 2

I was the only remote member of the team, so at times it was difficult to fully understand the social and team dynamics within their office. I initially was unaware of any jealousy within the team until I was asked to fly out for a week for an unrelated reason. When on the ground, it become very clear to me there was a strong level of tension between some of the employees.

• The lvl 5 was jealous of 2 of their friends who were now lvl 6 because they joined the organisation at the same time.
• The lvl 4 was a strong performer who was happy with their current position.
• However the lvl 2 who was an apprentice, was an outstanding performer (approx lvl 6) and it was close to witnessing a savant, especially at their age (18).

However there was no possible way for them to go up any higher as their role was tied to the completion of a certain stint of education.

This, alongside that the lvl 5 had aspirations of becoming a lvl 6 but was severely under performing which was especially noticeable by the lvl 2 - made things very awkward and difficult to navigate.

The outcome of this in the end was that I would support the lvl 2 in finding another role in a different organisation and with the lvl 5, we had a long discussion alongside my director to work out a plan of how they can start adding more value and improving their position within the team.

How could I have gone about this differently to create a more positive environment for the team?

A bit of context, I've read the EM videos on Taro, and I feel the one that I have is not on the same levels. They lack of many things. I fear to provide the proper feedback because my promotion and appraisal is on the line.

They got promoted from SDE 1 to EM because of the funding

1. I would recommend my manager to others?
   ~ For people management yes, for technical stuff no
2. My manager assigns stretch opportunities to help me develop in my career?
   ~ I don't really understand this question
3. My manager communicates clear goals for our team
   ~ No they don't, don't have any documentation, a system design decisions are made on ad hoc basis, team is not aware about the changes.
4. My manager consistently shows consideration for me as a person
   ~ yes people ops are good
5. My manager effectively collaborates across boundaries(eg team, org)
   ~ Nope, there are certain teams expecting the manager to steer the ship but since there is no planning many of the things are pending
6. My manager gives me actionable feedback on a regular basis
   ~ Nope 1-1 is there is no feedback for me
7. My manager has had a meaningful discussion with me about my career development in the past six months
   ~ Yep promotion and appraisal talks as I'm identified as top IC + team lead who is proactive
8. My manager has the technical expertise required to effectively manage me.
   ~ Nope, they lack
9. My manager keeps the team focused on priorities, even when its difficult
   ~ This they do but always the output has no value only there is a hype and fear to get things done, no business value is generated
10. My manager makes tough decisions effectively
    ~ They reorg the team only thinking them as a resource rather than how much context and individual has made in the project
11. My manager provides the autonomy I need to do my job
    ~ They do and then I plan it accordingly but when a junior goes to manager he changes the scope and context
12. What would you have your manager change?
13. What would you recommend your manager keep doing?

But, overall I fear to write what I wish to communicate to the leadership.

In the past two years, I've been employed at an Indian company in the role of Engineering Manager. However, my experience was marred by a lack of learning opportunities and a restrictive culture that limited my decision-making authority. Despite these challenges, I chose to stay due to personal commitments, particularly with a baby on the way.

Recently, I decided to transition to a Staff role at a European startup, embracing remote work and a more supportive culture (I loved this job and role). While the change has been positive, I find myself facing the challenge of underdeveloped skills and falling short of my expectations (It's my feeling).

How can I effectively overcome this situation and make the maximum impact in my new role? Specifically, I need to enhance my technological proficiency, deepen my understanding of business dynamics, and integrate seamlessly into the organizational culture. What strategies should I employ to bridge this gap swiftly and justify my position within the company?

What kind of tools that Facebook uses for A/B testing?

Are they doing trunk-based development?

Hi everyone! Hope this question finds you well! I am currently working as a senior software engineer, and our company currently has opportunities for us to take on engineering management responsibilities (mentoring junior SWE career development, giving them performance reviews, approving expense reports, etc.) and carry the engineering manager title along with my senior SWE title. I was wondering would taking on management responsibilities translate into future value for career development if I want to mainly grow my career on technical skills and engineering leadership skills (so I don't want to be only a people manager in the long run)? Or would only focusing on growing my technical and communication skills without taking on management responsibilities be more efficient?

I would really appreciate any thoughts/insights! Thank you very much! 🙏

I'm a new people manager - previously I was an IC. I understand that I am now equally responsible for the helping the team deliver business goals and promote people's well being and growth.

How do you balance your time and figure out what's most important to focus your time and energy on? How do you spend your focus time you do have?

I recently read an existing question "Do FAANG...ever hire M1 from outside?"

I am aware that M1 is usually filled internally. The part that shocked me is that the questioner stated they are a Sr EM with 10 years of management experience. I would expect they would interview for Tier 1 as a Sr EM with that background.

This relates to my own career strategy as well: I plan to move from Sr IC to EM at my current company, gain 2-5 years of experience, and consider interviewing out for promo if I can't achieve internal promo in that frame.

Am I thinking about this the wrong way? We know promo to senior for engineers by interviewing is often easier than internal promo, but is that a poor mental model for EM?

I'm exploring distance MBA courses to enhance my career as a software engineer. Could you recommend a program that offers a strong alumni network, opportunities for leadership development, and a comprehensive curriculum in engineering management? I'm particularly interested in globally recognized institutions like Indian School of Business or IIM, but I'm open to suggestions for the best fit. My goal is to improve my organizational skills, gain business acumen, and expand my network to excel in leadership roles.

What would be the next roles/avenues to look for, after being staff engineer for a couple of years?

Does moving to a managerial role become easy after being a staff for a while, in terms of lateral/vertical hire and also managing the role once hired?

TL;DR: is being deeply involved in the details and not a hands off managerial approach to starting companies popularized by brian chesky and paul graham

Nothing much here, just thoughts? Anyone here working in startups going "founder mode"?

What will you recommend me at this stage of my career to go back from leading teams to writing code or being a tech lead / tech lead manager role? The industry has changed and senior/director level roles have vanished.

I’ll be finishing my internship pretty soon and I think I feel like I’ve done a good job. I checked in with my manager every 2 weeks (didn’t check in with them for the past 3 weeks expecting this final conversation). Wondering what I should bring up with them in my last conversation with them? I am interested in a return offer (RO). What should I ask them about?

I know this is a broad question and depends on personal choices. I'm wondering if you could provide some insights on choosing between IC and manager paths.
What are the factors to look into?
How fast or difficult is career growth in both the paths?
How do the work-life balance and day-to-day life look like in both these paths?
My eventual goal is to start a startup. Does having managerial experience help here or being strong senior/staff IC help here better?

I'm 30 from Mumbai, India. At the moment I don't have any dependencies as such, though I need to plan well, as an Software Development Engineer - 2 India I think I perform well enough in solving problems for a digital products.

Now my parents wants me to settle down, own a house, etc etc. I've evaluated my current city and commute the state government etc and got in the conclusion that I don't want to live in this place for the next decades of my life. My parents are supporting me for this and I feel I can choose any city + country to minimum learn for an year or start working there straight away.

I have two thoughts in my mind; after doing 6 years of SWE, I think I understand the digital realm. I was thinking of leadership roles or being part of the startups, but I'm not sure how to connect to them. Maybe I can relocate first and then join them? I feel competent that I can crack interviews.

Also a major setback at this moment is my current org has been a bit insecure, that they have made us all sign a 3 months notice period.

Please ask me more and give me some ideas.