Finally I did it - I spoke at CodeBEAM EU - not only that, it was a keynote! Which is a bit scary when the likes of Saša are “just” regular speakers as well as a cast of great speakers all around (including the other 2 keynotes, where I’m lucky enough to know the speakers as well). Nonetheless, from what feedback I could gather it was a success!

This time, there is a recording of the talk but I don’t know when it will be released. In the meantime, I can still recommend to get the book “The Staff Engineer’s Path” by Tanya Reilly as it is beyond excellent.

The talk isn’t only aimed at Senior or Staff engineers but at everyone who wants to deliver projects and make change happen in an organization - so, practically, everyone :)

For a 2 word summary of the talk, see the following image:

You can find the slides on speakerdeck, slideshare or as a PDF.

Abstract

What’s up with becoming a Staff Engineer? What does it mean? Is it just for people who want to keep coding? How do you become a Staff Engineer and what does the work entail? What if I told you that being a Staff engineer actually required a lot of communication and collaboration skills?

In this talk, let’s answer all those questions! To aid in our journey, we’ll also take a look at what it means to be “glue”, help you navigate organizations to find value and succeed at being a Staff engineer!

Key Takeaways

  • what is a Staff+ engineer? What role and responsibilities does this entail?
    • (discusses the classical 4 archetypes + a fifth one and their application)
    • what does the work of a staff+ engineer entail?
  • How do you get promoted to be a Staff+ engineer?
    • classical promotion path
    • “Staff project”
    • detour via management track
  • How do you excel at a Staff+ role?
    • why the term “individual contributor” is misleading
    • being glue
    • yes, you are a leader
    • navigating big organizations and finding value