The Staff Engineer's Path

You need to measure success from your users’ point of view.

To pass through the fortress gates, you might need to bring a token of sponsorship from someone the gatekeeper respects, or know the password to lower the drawbridge. (Common passwords include proving that you’ve mitigated all of the risks of your proposed change, completing lengthy checklists or capacity estimates, or replying to huge numbers of d

Whenever there’s a feeling of “someone should do something here,” there’s a reasonable chance that the someone is you.

Knowing the cultural expectations around sharing is crucial. In a culture that keeps knowledge locked down, you’ll lose your boss’s trust if you reshare something they told you in confidence. In a more open company, you’ll be considered political or untrustworthy if you withhold information or don’t make sure everyone knows what’s going on.

TPMs make sure the project gets done on time, but staff engineers make sure it’s done with high engineering standards.

Good decisions need context. Experienced engineers know that the answer to most technology choices is “it depends.” Knowing the pros and cons of a particular technology isn’t enough—you need to know the local details too. What are you trying to do? How much time, money, and patience do you have? What’s your risk tolerance? What does the business ne

Top-down or bottom-up? Where do initiatives come from? A completely bottom-up culture is one where employees and teams feel empowered to make their own decisions and champion the initiatives they think are important. However, when those initiatives need broader support, they slow down. If teams disagree about direction or priority, the lack of a ce

Staff engineering has plenty of room for introverts—and

First things first: staff engineering is a leadership role. A staff engineer often has the same seniority as a line manager.