The Staff Engineer's Path

For years, companies have rewarded their most effective engineers by suggesting they move to a management position. But treating management as the default — or only — path for an engineer with leadership ability doesn't serve the industry well. The staff engineer path allows you to contribute at a high level, with more free time to drive big projects, determine tech strategy, a...

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For years, companies have rewarded their most effective engineers by suggesting they move to a management position. But treating management as the default — or only — path for an engineer with leadership ability doesn't serve the industry well. The staff engineer path allows you to contribute at a high level, with more free time to drive big projects, determine tech strategy, and raise everyone's skills.

With this in-depth book, author Tanya Reilly shows you ways to master strategic thinking, manage difficult projects, and set the standard for technical work. You'll learn how to be a leader without direct authority, how to plan ahead so that you're making the right technical decisions, and how to make everyone around you better, all while still leaving you time to grow as an expert in your domain.

In three parts, you'll explore the three pillars of an engineer's job:

Big picture thinking: learn how to take a broad, strategic view when thinking about your work

Project execution: dive into tactics and explore the practicalities of making projects succeed

Being a positive influence: determine the standards for what "good engineering" means in your organization

Intro
The tech track
Senior and Beyond
Part 1: Big Picture
Part 2: Execution
Part 3: Positive Influence
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Intro
The tech track
Senior and Beyond
Part 1: Big Picture
Part 2: Execution
Part 3: Positive Influence
1. What Exactly Would You Say You Do Here?
Takeaways
What even is a Staff Engineer?
Why are you here?
Why do we need engineers who can see the big picture?
Why do we need engineers who lead projects that cross multiple teams?
Why do we need engineers who are a good influence?
Why do these need to be Staff engineers?
Enough philosophy. What’s my job?
You’re not a manager, but you are a leader
You’re in a “technical” role
You aim to be autonomous
You set technical direction
You communicate often and well
Mapping your own role
Where in the organization do you sit?
What’s your scope?
What do you enjoy doing?
What’s your current mission
Aligning on your scope and mission
“That’s not my job”.
2. Three Maps
Takeaways
Uh, did anyone bring a map?
A locator map: You are here
A topographical map: Learning the terrain
A treasure map: X marks the spot
Clearing the fog of war
The locator map: getting some perspective

Losing perspective
Seeing bigger
Keeping your locator map up to date
The topographical map: navigating the terrain
Rough terrain
Understanding your org
Keeping your topographic map up to date
If the terrain is still difficult to navigate, be a bridge
The treasure map: remind me where we’re going?
Chasing shiny things
Taking a longer view
If the treasure map’s still unclear, it might be time to draw your own
Your own personal ship’s log
3. Creating the Big Picture
Takeaways
Filling in the Gaps
The approach
The writing
The launch
The scenario: SockMatcher needs a plan
What’s a vision? What’s a strategy?
What’s a technical vision?
What’s a technical strategy?
Do we need one of these?
The approach: what are we going to do?
Brace for boring ideas!
Is there an existing journey?
Getting a sponsor
Choosing your crew
Allies and Skeptics
What are we creating? What’s our scope?
Is this achievable (by you?)
Ready to commit to doing this?
The writing: actually making the document
Writing something to start with
Interviewing people
Thinking time
Making decisions
Stayin’ aligned
The launch: making it real
The final draft
Making it official
What story are you telling?
Keeping it fresh
Ok, we have a plan! And it’s written down!
About the Author
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