Harrison Finch’s Post

#LeadEngineer vs. #TechLead vs. #SeniorEngineer. No, it’s not the Thunderdome but a comparison of these popular leadership positions in engineering. Read our latest blog post to learn about these roles, their responsibilities, salaries and more to see which might be the better fit for your career:

#LeadEngineer vs. #TechLead vs. #SeniorEngineer. No, it’s not the Thunderdome but a comparison of these popular leadership positions in engineering. Read our latest blog post to learn about these roles, their responsibilities, salaries and more to see which might be the better fit for your career:

When trying to change your engineering culture one critical component that is often forgotten: Your hiring pipeline. Even if you have re-aligned values, incentivize correct behaviors, and had all-hands discussions declaring these new values all of it will count for very little if your hiring pipeline negates any candidates with those new values. Consider a small company becoming a medium one. Frequently this means your top-level engineers are highly technical and code-focused which can get you over the initial hump, but will begin to deteriorate and create substantial technical debt as you scale. At this stage companies need leaders that are more socio-technical and are able to organize and communicate effectively. If the hyper-technical retain power in the hiring pipeline they will select for people like them and filter out anyone with the experience to take your company to the next level, more deeply entrenching the problem in the process. I've seen this happen at many growing companies, and only by short-circuiting or completely renovating hiring will it be unblocked.

" Do I hire the engineering managers first, or hire the entire team all together?" 🤔 The other week, a client posed this exact question to me and my team. We were looking into how we would best build out their engineering teams, and contemplated whether to start with hiring managers or assemble the whole squad simultaneously. 💡 Recruitment-wise, both are feasible. Yet, my focus was on the ideal method for the client to embed culture and best engineering practices into the organization. Here are the two main scenarios we thought of, along with their distinct approaches: 🌱 Scenario 1: Seeding the team. If the client has a substantial pool of team members, my suggestion was to hire the entire team upfront, integrating engineers with previous company tenure into the newly formed teams (hence the "seeding"). This allowed us to bring in both team members and managers simultaneously, ensuring the right practices were ingrained from the get-go. 🏗️ Scenario 2: Building from scratch In the absence of engineers for seeding, the alternative was to hire managers first. We would make sure they are well-versed in the engineering practices of the new employer and then support them in assembling their teams. Although a slower approach than hiring everyone at once, we believed it would create more effective teams faster, by reducing turnover due to managerial changes or cultural misalignment. 🌟 What did we do? We opted for option 1 since there were ample engineers within the organization. Yet, I'm curious: would you suggest any other options or approaches? Let's keep the discussion flowing! 💬 #TeamBuilding #EngineeringLeadership #OptimizingTeams"

Having a engineering strategy is the gift that keeps on giving... Yet many engineering leaders don't take the time to document their strategy. They are missing out. Look what you could have won! 1️⃣ 𝗕𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗧𝗮𝗹𝗲��𝘁 𝗔𝘁𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 • Writing generic job specs with a focus on what the person does for you?    • Try writing job adverts that focus on what you can do for them and the change they can drive.    • Write a compelling vision that people wish to be part of and work to create. • Outline key strategic themes, initiatives and projected business impact. 2️⃣ 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗿 𝗢𝗻𝗯𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 Rapidly achieve: • Understanding of strategic context    • High alignment    • Increased confidence in leadership 3️⃣ 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝗽𝗲𝗲𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽𝘀 • Clearly demonstrate to peers how engineering is contributing to business goals. 4️⃣ 𝗜𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 • A clear and compelling engineering strategy will help you secure funding. Writing an engineering strategy is a high leverage activity. You won't regret spending the time. P.S What is holding you back from documenting your engineering strategy?

Transitioning from an engineering manager to an individual contributor role is a profound career shift, necessitating careful consideration and strategic planning. In this comprehensive article, we will delve deep into the intricacies of this transition, exploring the challenges and opportunities it presents and providing a roadmap for making this journey successful. https://lnkd.in/daBT6_32

“The Engineering Manager will need to have experience with our tech stack” Is what I hear a lot from clients when I am asked to help find a “hands on” functional Engineering Manager. I think every Engineering leader from Management up to C-Suite should still be able to code. Even though the higher up one progresses, one’s role inevitably becomes more strategic and hands off, there should just generally still be enjoyment from building stuff. At Individual Contribtuor level, I can absolutely see the rationale in complete alignment with the tech stack of a company. However, I’m not convinced there has to be an exact alignment with technology stacks at the management/leadership level. Keen to understand the general consensus from my engineering network, what do you think? comment below and let me know your thoughts 🤔👇🏻

3 Mistakes in Engineering Hiring (That I Learned the Hard Way) Mistake #1: The “culture fit” trope. Culture fit can easily fall into the trap of perpetuating the status quo. Don’t select an engineer just because they’re like you or your existing team members. Instead, focus on values and alignment. Test your prospective engineer's ability to co-create values with the team. Mistake #2: Neglecting Soft skills. Soft skills are now hard requirements. Soft skills great engineers need: - Empathy - Communication - Curiosity - Adaptability Mistake #3: The Purple Squirrel Hunt It’s challenging to find the "perfect" engineer. Know which attributes you're willing to trade off. Are you willing to train in some areas? What are the 80% of skills that drive impact? Ensuring you're not making these mistakes can help you make more objective and effective hiring decisions. Don't let these common pitfalls hold you back from finding the next great engineer for your team. ——————————— P.S. Click the link below when you read this to sign-up to my newsletter Engineering Excellence. It's read by 10,000 people including Fortune 500 execs, founders, engineers, and investors from Silicon Valley to Wall Street. https://ryanyockey.com/

What is the difference between a CTO & a VP of Engineering (VPE) in a company? Vision & Strategy: 1️⃣ CTO: Shapes technical direction, ensures thought leadership, aligns with business goals. 2️⃣ VPE: Executes product vision through effective technical leadership. Supervision: 1️⃣ CTO: Leads smaller groups of engineering managers, architects, and research engineers. 2️⃣ VPE: Directly supervises technical staff and engineering teams. Responsibility & Planning: 1️⃣ CTO: Guides technological direction, engineering culture, and vision. 2️⃣ VPE: Builds and retains developer teams, charts progress, contributes to employee growth. Specialization & Execution: 1️⃣ CTO: Focuses on overall leadership, research, revisiting processes, and examining tech architecture. 2️⃣ VPE: Specializes in people, processes, and program management. Collaboration: 1️⃣ CTO: Engages in customer-facing activities, works closely with the CEO. 2️⃣ VPE: Collaborates internally with engineers and management to develop company strategies and products. Although both positions contribute to a company’s technological advancement, the CTO is responsible for driving innovation and technical vision, while the VPE ensures operational efficiency and execution #CTO #VPE #engineeringleadership