Principal Engineer

How to set up a new engineering team

This article discusses the challenges of building a team when the only engineer on the project is also the manager. It provides advice on how to recruit and onboard new engineers, such as having a plan in place for the first week, month, and three months, having an onboarding buddy, and giving engineers chances to deliver code early on.

Understanding What Drives People Can Help You Seduce Senior Engineers to Join Your Company

Companies need to be aware that senior engineers are more likely to choose purpose and passion over a high salary. To attract them, companies should look for experienced professionals at career fairs and networking events, have honest conversations outside the office, and tailor benefits to their specific needs. Two main motives that drive senior engineers are personal growth and mentoring possibilities, so companies should offer trainings and the chance to mentor junior colleagues.

Providing Feedback You Disagree With

A manager faced the challenge of presenting a lower review than recommended to a high performing direct report. The manager adjusted their mindset, looked for positives and ideas to address the feedback, and gave the direct report room to process their emotions. This resulted in the direct report crushing their next review and achieving an even higher rating than recommended. This is an example of how a positive outcome can be achieved even when faced with an organizational decision with which one disagrees.

In Need of Extra Hands: Hiring Independent Contractors and External Vendors

When needing to hire additional capacity or expertise, it is important to secure the hiring budget, identify contractors or vendors, vet their quality, and be prepared on the logistical, product, and engineering side. Contracting is a good opportunity to make the right hire and it is important to ensure that the regular team knows and understands what the contractors are building.

How I Moved Away From A Flat Organizational Structure

When the CTO of Narrative Science took over, the company was flat-structured with 14 engineers and 40 employees in total. To prepare for growth, the CTO implemented a QA and DevOps team, created a career ladder with five levels, and set up a program to hire recent graduates. He also had to explain the reasoning behind the changes to the existing organization and train people in having difficult conversations. He learned that it is important to make sure the requirements for each level are clear and that he should deliver on any promises made to employees.

Helping Your Reports Become Managers

At Niche, the author had the privilege of growing a department from two people to over a dozen. To enable further growth, the author needed to foster and develop a new layer of management within the team. To do this, the author set a six-month plan for the most senior member of the QA team to become a manager. Through a SWOT analysis, reading curriculum, and mentorship sessions, the author was able to equip the emerging manager with the skills and confidence to become a successful manager. The author learned that having a longer preparation time was helpful in changing the emerging manager's perception within their team and that nurturing talent internally is a sound business decision.