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<title data-rh="true">Beyond Staff Engineer - Alex Ewerlöf Notes</title>
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<meta data-rh="true" name="theme-color" content="#001426"/><meta data-rh="true" property="og:type" content="article"/><meta data-rh="true" property="og:title" content="Beyond Staff Engineer"/><meta data-rh="true" name="twitter:title" content="Beyond Staff Engineer"/><meta data-rh="true" name="description" content="This article talks about the challenges and toolset for the technical leadership level that comes after staff engineer: senior staff engineer, principal engineer, technical director"/><meta data-rh="true" property="og:description" content="Some call it "Senior Staff", some "principal", others "technical director", but what comes after Staff Engineer? What are the challenges and toolset to handle higher complexity across a larger organization?"/><meta data-rh="true" name="twitter:description" content="Some call it "Senior Staff", some "principal", others "technical director", but what comes after Staff Engineer? What are the challenges and toolset to handle higher complexity across a larger organization?"/><meta data-rh="true" property="og:image" content="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!el1v!,w_1200,h_675,c_fill,f_jpg,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep,g_auto/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0a2e89d9-ae6f-4244-9e5a-1e9ba965e6da_692x569.png"/><meta data-rh="true" name="twitter:image" content="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Jjek!,f_auto,q_auto:best,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Falexewerlof.substack.com%2Fapi%2Fv1%2Fpost_preview%2F137814986%2Ftwitter.jpg%3Fversion%3D4"/><meta data-rh="true" name="twitter:card" content="summary_large_image"/><meta data-rh="true" property="article:modified_time" content="2024-04-15T07:29:31.952Z"/>
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What are the challenges and toolset to handle higher complexity across a larger org?</h3><div aria-label="Post UFI" role="region" class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-flexDirection-column pc-paddingBottom-16 pc-reset"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-paddingTop-16 pc-paddingBottom-16 pc-justifyContent-space-between pc-alignItems-center pc-reset"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-12 pc-alignItems-center pc-reset byline-wrapper"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-reset"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-flexDirection-row pc-gap-8 pc-alignItems-center pc-justifyContent-flex-start pc-reset"><div style="--scale:36px;--offset:9px;--border-width:4.5px;" class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-flexDirection-row pc-alignItems-center pc-justifyContent-flex-start pc-reset ltr-qDBmby"><a href="https://substack.com/@alexewerlof" aria-label="View Alex Ewerlöf's profile" class="pencraft pc-display-contents pc-reset"><div style="--scale:36px;" tabindex="0" class="pencraft 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class="pencraft pc-reset color-primary-zABazT line-height-20-t4M0El font-meta-MWBumP size-11-NuY2Zx weight-medium-fw81nC transform-uppercase-yKDgcq reset-IxiVJZ meta-EgzBVA"><span style="min-width:0;" data-state="closed"><a href="https://substack.com/@alexewerlof" class="pencraft pc-reset decoration-hover-underline-ClDVRM reset-IxiVJZ">Alex Ewerlöf</a></span></div><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-4 pc-reset"><div class="pencraft pc-reset color-secondary-ls1g8s line-height-20-t4M0El font-meta-MWBumP size-11-NuY2Zx weight-medium-fw81nC transform-uppercase-yKDgcq reset-IxiVJZ meta-EgzBVA"><time datetime="2023-10-11T20:11:09.017Z" title="2023-10-11T20:11:09.017Z">Oct 11, 2023</time></div></div></div></div></div><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-16 pc-justifyContent-space-between pc-alignItems-center pc-reset flex-grow-rzmknG post-ufi"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><div class="like-button-container post-ufi-button style-button"><button 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8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg><div class="label">5</div></button></div><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft post-ufi-button style-button has-label with-border"><div class="label">Share</div></button></div></div></div></div><div class="visibility-check"></div><div><div class="dt-post-body"><div class="available-content"><div dir="auto" class="body markup"><p><span>20 months ago, when I accepted a job as a </span><em>Senior</em><span> Staff Engineer, I had no idea what I was getting into!</span></p><p>I thought to myself:</p><blockquote><p>Sure, I’ve been a Staff Engineer before; how hard could the “Senior” part be?</p></blockquote><p>As it turns out, very! 😮</p><p>Before taking the job, I thought Senior Staff would be like Staff but more! This is what I was prepared for:</p><ul><li><p>More people to serve, more organizational surface to cover</p></li><li><p>More technologies to master, and at more depth</p></li></ul><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!glgZ!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcd9a3948-19b4-40ca-8ebd-59d4185af195_943x843.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM" class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img can-restack"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!glgZ!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcd9a3948-19b4-40ca-8ebd-59d4185af195_943x843.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!glgZ!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcd9a3948-19b4-40ca-8ebd-59d4185af195_943x843.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!glgZ!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcd9a3948-19b4-40ca-8ebd-59d4185af195_943x843.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!glgZ!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcd9a3948-19b4-40ca-8ebd-59d4185af195_943x843.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"/><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!glgZ!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcd9a3948-19b4-40ca-8ebd-59d4185af195_943x843.png" width="943" height="843" data-attrs="{"src":"https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/cd9a3948-19b4-40ca-8ebd-59d4185af195_943x843.png","srcNoWatermark":null,"fullscreen":null,"imageSize":null,"height":843,"width":943,"resizeWidth":null,"bytes":46423,"alt":null,"title":null,"type":"image/png","href":null,"belowTheFold":false,"topImage":true,"internalRedirect":null,"isProcessing":false,"align":null,"offset":false}" alt srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!glgZ!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcd9a3948-19b4-40ca-8ebd-59d4185af195_943x843.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!glgZ!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcd9a3948-19b4-40ca-8ebd-59d4185af195_943x843.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!glgZ!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcd9a3948-19b4-40ca-8ebd-59d4185af195_943x843.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!glgZ!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcd9a3948-19b4-40ca-8ebd-59d4185af195_943x843.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high" class="sizing-normal"/></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>In theory, this model is ideal. In practice, it misses a few important nuances and can easily lead to feeling overwhelmed.</p><p><span>Before unpacking </span><em>Senior</em><span> Staff Engineer, let’s have a look at the </span><em>regular</em><span> Staff Engineer role because as we’ll see ambiguity is a theme in both roles.</span></p><h2 class="header-anchor-post">The role of Staff Engineer<div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-alignItems-center pc-position-absolute pc-reset header-anchor-parent"><div class="pencraft pc-display-contents pc-reset pubTheme-yiXxQA"><div id="§the-role-of-staff-engineer" class="pencraft pc-reset header-anchor offset-top"></div><button tabindex="0" type="button" aria-label="Link" data-href="https://blog.alexewerlof.com/i/137814986/the-role-of-staff-engineer" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft iconButton-mq_Et5 iconButtonBase-dJGHgN buttonBase-GK1x3M buttonStyle-r7yGCK size_sm-G3LciD priority_secondary-S63h9o"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="18" height="18" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-link"><path d="M10 13a5 5 0 0 0 7.54.54l3-3a5 5 0 0 0-7.07-7.07l-1.72 1.71"></path><path d="M14 11a5 5 0 0 0-7.54-.54l-3 3a5 5 0 0 0 7.07 7.07l1.71-1.71"></path></svg></button></div></div></h2><p><span>The term “staff” </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staff_%28military%29">is used in the military</a><span> to promote great soldiers as role models without giving them extra command and control responsibilities.</span></p><p><span>Staff officers assist the </span><em>commanders</em><span> in planning, analysis, and information gathering. The commanders have </span><em><a href="https://www.armyupress.army.mil/Journals/Military-Review/English-Edition-Archives/November-December-2020/Starr-Great-Leaders/">authority</a></em><a href="https://www.armyupress.army.mil/Journals/Military-Review/English-Edition-Archives/November-December-2020/Starr-Great-Leaders/"> and </a><em><a href="https://www.armyupress.army.mil/Journals/Military-Review/English-Edition-Archives/November-December-2020/Starr-Great-Leaders/">accountability</a></em><span> over their subordinates. Staff officers don’t.</span></p><div data-component-name="DigestPostEmbed" class="digestPostEmbed-flwiST"><a href="https://blog.alexewerlof.com/p/senior-engineer-to-staff-engineer" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-16 pc-reset"><div style="width:70px;height:70px;" class="pencraft pc-reset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Ze2F!,w_140,h_140,c_fill,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep,g_auto/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff615525c-7ab0-4f15-99be-eae23ec1bcc5_664x650.png"/><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Ze2F!,w_140,h_140,c_fill,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep,g_auto/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff615525c-7ab0-4f15-99be-eae23ec1bcc5_664x650.png" sizes="100vw" alt="Senior to Staff Engineer" width="140" height="140" class="img-OACg1c smSquare-NGbPBa pencraft pc-reset"/></picture></div><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-flexDirection-column pc-reset"><h4 class="pencraft pc-reset color-pub-primary-text-NyXPlw line-height-24-jnGwiv font-display-nhmvtD size-20-P_cSRT weight-bold-DmI9lw reset-IxiVJZ">Senior to Staff Engineer</h4><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-4 pc-alignItems-center pc-reset"><div class="pencraft pc-reset color-pub-secondary-text-hGQ02T line-height-20-t4M0El font-meta-MWBumP size-11-NuY2Zx weight-medium-fw81nC transform-uppercase-yKDgcq reset-IxiVJZ meta-EgzBVA"><a href="https://substack.com/profile/87732486-alex-ewerlof" class="inheritColor-WetTGJ">Alex Ewerlöf</a></div><div class="pencraft pc-reset color-pub-secondary-text-hGQ02T reset-IxiVJZ">·</div><div class="pencraft pc-reset color-pub-secondary-text-hGQ02T line-height-20-t4M0El font-meta-MWBumP size-11-NuY2Zx weight-medium-fw81nC transform-uppercase-yKDgcq reset-IxiVJZ meta-EgzBVA">September 9, 2023</div></div><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-16 pc-paddingTop-0 pc-paddingBottom-0 pc-alignItems-center pc-reset"><a href="https://blog.alexewerlof.com/p/senior-engineer-to-staff-engineer" class="pencraft pc-reset align-center-y7ZD4w line-height-20-t4M0El font-text-qe4AeH size-13-hZTUKr weight-medium-fw81nC reset-IxiVJZ"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-alignItems-center pc-reset link-HREYZo"><span class="pencraft pc-reset color-accent-BVX_7M line-height-20-t4M0El font-text-qe4AeH size-14-MLPa7j weight-semibold-uqA4FV reset-IxiVJZ">Read full story</span><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="16" height="16" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-arrow-right"><path d="M5 12h14"></path><path d="m12 5 7 7-7 7"></path></svg></div></a></div></div></div></a></div><p>The tech industry sometimes refers to the Staff Engineer role with alternative names like Principal Engineer (e.g., Amazon or Microsoft) or Tech Lead. But the common part is the same: it is an IC (individual contributor) role without management responsibility over people.</p><p><span>Promoting the best engineers to management positions is not necessarily productive or desired (</span><a href="https://chat.openai.com/share/ee74bad0-7ad0-495f-a77e-738edbe9e90e">few examples</a><span> from ChatGPT). Modern career ladders acknowledge this fact and provide an alternative between focusing on </span><strong>people</strong><span> or </span><strong>technical</strong><span> responsibilities:</span></p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!dR-5!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F61e45334-8472-41ca-b350-3b6715a93f06_971x972.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM" class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img can-restack"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!dR-5!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F61e45334-8472-41ca-b350-3b6715a93f06_971x972.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!dR-5!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F61e45334-8472-41ca-b350-3b6715a93f06_971x972.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!dR-5!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F61e45334-8472-41ca-b350-3b6715a93f06_971x972.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!dR-5!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F61e45334-8472-41ca-b350-3b6715a93f06_971x972.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"/><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!dR-5!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F61e45334-8472-41ca-b350-3b6715a93f06_971x972.png" width="971" height="972" data-attrs="{"src":"https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/61e45334-8472-41ca-b350-3b6715a93f06_971x972.png","srcNoWatermark":null,"fullscreen":null,"imageSize":null,"height":972,"width":971,"resizeWidth":null,"bytes":153566,"alt":null,"title":null,"type":"image/png","href":null,"belowTheFold":true,"topImage":false,"internalRedirect":null,"isProcessing":false,"align":null,"offset":false}" alt srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!dR-5!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F61e45334-8472-41ca-b350-3b6715a93f06_971x972.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!dR-5!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F61e45334-8472-41ca-b350-3b6715a93f06_971x972.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!dR-5!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F61e45334-8472-41ca-b350-3b6715a93f06_971x972.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!dR-5!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F61e45334-8472-41ca-b350-3b6715a93f06_971x972.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy" class="sizing-normal"/></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>In a career ladder, the change in title is often coupled with a change in expectations and impact. Staff Engineer is not “more engineer” than Senior Engineer but adds a different dimension as we discussed in the previous article:</p><div data-component-name="DigestPostEmbed" class="digestPostEmbed-flwiST"><a href="https://blog.alexewerlof.com/p/principal-engineer" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-16 pc-reset"><div style="width:70px;height:70px;" class="pencraft pc-reset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!F-p7!,w_140,h_140,c_fill,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep,g_auto/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcce23842-1fb3-40b0-a44e-a0931de15539_970x973.png"/><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!F-p7!,w_140,h_140,c_fill,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep,g_auto/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcce23842-1fb3-40b0-a44e-a0931de15539_970x973.png" sizes="100vw" alt="Principal Engineer" width="140" height="140" class="img-OACg1c smSquare-NGbPBa pencraft pc-reset"/></picture></div><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-flexDirection-column pc-reset"><h4 class="pencraft pc-reset color-pub-primary-text-NyXPlw line-height-24-jnGwiv font-display-nhmvtD size-20-P_cSRT weight-bold-DmI9lw reset-IxiVJZ">Principal Engineer</h4><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-4 pc-alignItems-center pc-reset"><div class="pencraft pc-reset color-pub-secondary-text-hGQ02T line-height-20-t4M0El font-meta-MWBumP size-11-NuY2Zx weight-medium-fw81nC transform-uppercase-yKDgcq reset-IxiVJZ meta-EgzBVA"><a href="https://substack.com/profile/87732486-alex-ewerlof" class="inheritColor-WetTGJ">Alex Ewerlöf</a></div><div class="pencraft pc-reset color-pub-secondary-text-hGQ02T reset-IxiVJZ">·</div><div class="pencraft pc-reset color-pub-secondary-text-hGQ02T line-height-20-t4M0El font-meta-MWBumP size-11-NuY2Zx weight-medium-fw81nC transform-uppercase-yKDgcq reset-IxiVJZ meta-EgzBVA">April 15, 2024</div></div><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-16 pc-paddingTop-0 pc-paddingBottom-0 pc-alignItems-center pc-reset"><a href="https://blog.alexewerlof.com/p/principal-engineer" class="pencraft pc-reset align-center-y7ZD4w line-height-20-t4M0El font-text-qe4AeH size-13-hZTUKr weight-medium-fw81nC reset-IxiVJZ"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-alignItems-center pc-reset link-HREYZo"><span class="pencraft pc-reset color-accent-BVX_7M line-height-20-t4M0El font-text-qe4AeH size-14-MLPa7j weight-semibold-uqA4FV reset-IxiVJZ">Read full story</span><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="16" height="16" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-arrow-right"><path d="M5 12h14"></path><path d="m12 5 7 7-7 7"></path></svg></div></a></div></div></div></a></div><p>Just like their military counterparts Staff Engineers:</p><ul><li><p>Serve as role models for other engineers</p></li><li><p>Act as trusted advisors for engineering leaders</p></li><li><p>Have no direct reports and mandate over people or product</p></li></ul><p><span>Not every “commander” needs a “staff”. </span><a href="https://www.patkua.com/about/">Patrick Kua</a><span> defined </span><a href="https://www.patkua.com/blog/5-engineering-manager-archetypes/">5 archetypes for engineering managers</a><span>, some of whom are technical enough to lead their area without needing a Staff Engineer to act as a trusted advisor.</span></p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!RUXv!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F72ae5b6f-c67e-404f-9507-87825bbd5942_1000x500.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM" class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img can-restack"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!RUXv!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F72ae5b6f-c67e-404f-9507-87825bbd5942_1000x500.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!RUXv!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F72ae5b6f-c67e-404f-9507-87825bbd5942_1000x500.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!RUXv!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F72ae5b6f-c67e-404f-9507-87825bbd5942_1000x500.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!RUXv!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F72ae5b6f-c67e-404f-9507-87825bbd5942_1000x500.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"/><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!RUXv!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F72ae5b6f-c67e-404f-9507-87825bbd5942_1000x500.png" width="1000" height="500" data-attrs="{"src":"https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/72ae5b6f-c67e-404f-9507-87825bbd5942_1000x500.png","srcNoWatermark":null,"fullscreen":null,"imageSize":null,"height":500,"width":1000,"resizeWidth":null,"bytes":null,"alt":"Engineering Manager Archetype Summary","title":null,"type":null,"href":null,"belowTheFold":true,"topImage":false,"internalRedirect":null,"isProcessing":false,"align":null,"offset":false}" alt="Engineering Manager Archetype Summary" title="Engineering Manager Archetype Summary" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!RUXv!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F72ae5b6f-c67e-404f-9507-87825bbd5942_1000x500.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!RUXv!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F72ae5b6f-c67e-404f-9507-87825bbd5942_1000x500.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!RUXv!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F72ae5b6f-c67e-404f-9507-87825bbd5942_1000x500.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!RUXv!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F72ae5b6f-c67e-404f-9507-87825bbd5942_1000x500.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy" class="sizing-normal"/></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption"><span>Source: </span><a href="https://www.patkua.com/blog/5-engineering-manager-archetypes/">5 Engineering Manager Archetypes</a></figcaption></figure></div><p>However, when the engineering managers are responsible for a larger organization, they often have less time to spend on the tech part. As a result, they end up with a more abstract and outdated view about what’s going on at the technical level. This technical gap is something that the Staff Engineers can perfectly fill.</p><p>Unlike frontend, backend, mobile, or data engineers, the role of the Staff Engineer varies depending on the needs of the organization and potential of the individuals.</p><p><span>It is not surprising that there are at least </span><a href="https://staffeng.com/guides/staff-archetypes/">4 archetypes for Staff Engineers</a><span> (some count </span><a href="https://twitter.com/thiagoghisi/status/1572407124390445056?lang=en">6</a><span>!):</span></p><ul><li><p><strong>Right hand:</strong><span> borrows the authority of the leadership to make technical decisions</span></p></li><li><p><strong>Solver:</strong><span> is very deep in a particular technical area that spans across multiple teams</span></p></li><li><p><strong>Tech lead:</strong><span> acts as the technical representative of a large team with complex solution</span></p></li><li><p><strong>Architect:</strong><span> designs technical solutions in relation to user/business requirements </span><em>(note: I don’t believe in the value of this archetype, but that’s the story for another post)</em></p></li></ul><div class="subscription-widget-wrap"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p>If you want to get the latest post when it’s out, here’s how to do it:</p></div><div data-component-name="SubscribeWidget" class="subscribe-widget"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-justifyContent-center pc-reset"><div class="container-IpPqBD"><form action="/api/v1/free?nojs=true" method="post" novalidate class="form form-M5sC90"><input type="hidden" name="first_url" value/><input type="hidden" name="first_referrer" value/><input type="hidden" name="current_url"/><input type="hidden" name="current_referrer"/><input type="hidden" name="first_session_url" value/><input type="hidden" name="first_session_referrer" value/><input type="hidden" name="referral_code"/><input type="hidden" name="source" value="subscribe-widget-preamble"/><input type="hidden" name="referring_pub_id"/><input type="hidden" name="additional_referring_pub_ids"/><input type="hidden" name="source_post_id" value="137814986"/><div class="sideBySideWrap-vGXrwP"><div class="emailInputWrapper-QlA86j"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-minWidth-0 pc-position-relative pc-reset flex-auto-j3S2WA"><input name="email" placeholder="Type your email..." type="email" class="pencraft emailInput-OkIMeB input-y4v6N4 inputText-pV_yWb"/></div></div><button tabindex="0" type="submit" disabled class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft rightButton primary subscribe-btn button-VFSdkv buttonBase-GK1x3M"><span class="button-text ">Subscribe</span></button></div><div id="error-container"></div></form></div></div></div></div></div><p>Let’s switch gears to the level that comes after Staff Engineer.</p><h2 class="header-anchor-post">The Senior part!<div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-alignItems-center pc-position-absolute pc-reset header-anchor-parent"><div class="pencraft pc-display-contents pc-reset pubTheme-yiXxQA"><div id="§the-senior-part" class="pencraft pc-reset header-anchor offset-top"></div><button tabindex="0" type="button" aria-label="Link" data-href="https://blog.alexewerlof.com/i/137814986/the-senior-part" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft iconButton-mq_Et5 iconButtonBase-dJGHgN buttonBase-GK1x3M buttonStyle-r7yGCK size_sm-G3LciD priority_secondary-S63h9o"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="18" height="18" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-link"><path d="M10 13a5 5 0 0 0 7.54.54l3-3a5 5 0 0 0-7.07-7.07l-1.72 1.71"></path><path d="M14 11a5 5 0 0 0-7.54-.54l-3 3a5 5 0 0 0 7.07 7.07l1.71-1.71"></path></svg></button></div></div></h2><p><span>Some companies call it </span><em>Senior Staff</em><span>, some call it </span><em><a href="https://leaddev.com/career-ladders/who-are-staff-principal-and-distinguished-engineers">Principal Engineer</a></em><span> (yes, confusingly the same term is also used for Staff Engineer), while others prefer </span><em>Technical Director</em><span>.</span></p><p><span>Regardless of the title in a particular career ladder, we are talking about the level that follows another </span><em>individual contributor</em><span> technical </span><em>leadership</em><span> role.</span></p><div class="pullquote"><p>If Staff Engineering is about technical leadership, the level after is about doing that at scale.</p></div><p><strong>Senior Staff Engineer</strong><span> really takes its meaning in relation to the </span><strong>Staff Engineer</strong><span> role:</span></p><ul><li><p><strong>It is still technical, but different.</strong><span> You need to be more comfortable with the unknown. The higher level usually translates to fewer opportunities and time to work hands on with the code (except for the solver archetype). You need to be better at building trust, finding relevant information, verifying what you find, and streamlining the decision-making process. You must accept that you don’t have all the answers and instead work effectively with people smarter than you.</span></p></li><li><p><strong>It is still a leadership position, but different.</strong><span> Your ideas often go through other hands to be implemented. You need to be more comfortable at delegating and building alignment through setting standards, coaching, mentorship, sponsorship and developing strategies.</span></p></li><li><p><strong>It is still an individual contributor (IC) role, but harder.</strong><span> There are more interactions, expectations, and dotted reporting lines. A common complaint by Staff Engineers is that the lack of mandate over people slows them down. I call it “learning leadership the hard way” and have an upcoming post about all the tools that I have picked up over time to lead without mandate.</span></p></li><li><p><strong>It is closer to C-level:</strong><span> You are expected to act as a bridge between the CEO; CTO, CFO, etc. and the engineers working at the leaf nodes of the organization tree (technical solutions). Sometimes you act as a representative for the developers, sometimes you act as an ambassador for the company leadership.</span></p></li><li><p><strong>It still interacts with teams, but it is more ephemeral.</strong><span> One of the best ways to get a good understanding about the technology in use is to work with teams. Don’t let your level on the career ladder shield you from reality. Personally, I dive deep into 1-2 clusters (50-200 people) every 2-4 months. This allows me to get to know people I’m supposed to serve, but also work closer to the problem areas. It is hard to make an impact without having a good grip on the technical solutions. So far, I haven’t found a better way than working closely with the teams to gain first-hand experience with technical capabilities, limitations, requirements, and how they fit together. As a bonus, my temporary involvement with those teams allows me to see the big picture and cross-pollinate best practices.</span></p></li><li><p><strong>It is still a strategic role, but over a longer horizon.</strong><span> When I was a Senior Engineer, a good day meant that I released good code. When I became a Staff, I had less of those days and instead the definition of good day changed to taking a step in the right direction towards a quarterly or yearly objective. As a Senior Staff Engineer, I rarely see the immediate impact of the initiatives I’m driving. It feels more like building a staircase than climbing a step at a time.</span></p><div data-component-name="DigestPostEmbed" class="digestPostEmbed-flwiST"><a href="https://blog.alexewerlof.com/p/strategy-basics" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-16 pc-reset"><div style="width:70px;height:70px;" class="pencraft pc-reset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Hzpz!,w_140,h_140,c_fill,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep,g_auto/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5742d3bf-435f-4f93-a7d5-d0df2f5aa4e0_1150x539.png"/><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Hzpz!,w_140,h_140,c_fill,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep,g_auto/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5742d3bf-435f-4f93-a7d5-d0df2f5aa4e0_1150x539.png" sizes="100vw" alt="Strategy basics" width="140" height="140" class="img-OACg1c smSquare-NGbPBa pencraft pc-reset"/></picture></div><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-flexDirection-column pc-reset"><h4 class="pencraft pc-reset color-pub-primary-text-NyXPlw line-height-24-jnGwiv font-display-nhmvtD size-20-P_cSRT weight-bold-DmI9lw reset-IxiVJZ">Strategy basics</h4><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-4 pc-alignItems-center pc-reset"><div class="pencraft pc-reset color-pub-secondary-text-hGQ02T line-height-20-t4M0El font-meta-MWBumP size-11-NuY2Zx weight-medium-fw81nC transform-uppercase-yKDgcq reset-IxiVJZ meta-EgzBVA"><a href="https://substack.com/profile/87732486-alex-ewerlof" class="inheritColor-WetTGJ">Alex Ewerlöf</a></div><div class="pencraft pc-reset color-pub-secondary-text-hGQ02T reset-IxiVJZ">·</div><div class="pencraft pc-reset color-pub-secondary-text-hGQ02T line-height-20-t4M0El font-meta-MWBumP size-11-NuY2Zx weight-medium-fw81nC transform-uppercase-yKDgcq reset-IxiVJZ meta-EgzBVA">December 5, 2022</div></div><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-16 pc-paddingTop-0 pc-paddingBottom-0 pc-alignItems-center pc-reset"><a href="https://blog.alexewerlof.com/p/strategy-basics" class="pencraft pc-reset align-center-y7ZD4w line-height-20-t4M0El font-text-qe4AeH size-13-hZTUKr weight-medium-fw81nC reset-IxiVJZ"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-alignItems-center pc-reset link-HREYZo"><span class="pencraft pc-reset color-accent-BVX_7M line-height-20-t4M0El font-text-qe4AeH size-14-MLPa7j weight-semibold-uqA4FV reset-IxiVJZ">Read full story</span><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="16" height="16" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-arrow-right"><path d="M5 12h14"></path><path d="m12 5 7 7-7 7"></path></svg></div></a></div></div></div></a></div></li><li><p><strong>There is still autonomy, but more.</strong><span> Senior Staff Engineers have more autonomy than Staff Engineers. You need to be better at managing expectations, juggling tasks, and your energy to have a sustainable impact. One of the things that helped me to communicate my accountability is to have an open TODO list and calendar visible to everyone at the company. I’ve been taking notes to share about that experience and how it helped me manage expectations, as a side effect!</span></p></li><li><p><strong>Communication is still important, but different.</strong><span> You spend more time in the room with upper management. Sometimes you must talk about complex technical topics to a less-technical audience. Other times, you must break down high level decisions to actionable technical directions for teams and individuals. And you must do all of that on a scale. The sheer number of people in my network is easily 10x the number I had to support as a Staff Engineer. At this scale 1:1’s, slides or meetings don’t work as effectively.</span><br/></p><div data-component-name="DigestPostEmbed" class="digestPostEmbed-flwiST"><a href="https://blog.alexewerlof.com/p/less-meetings-more-focused-work" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-16 pc-reset"><div style="width:70px;height:70px;" class="pencraft pc-reset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!nzTb!,w_140,h_140,c_fill,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep,g_auto/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff8966cf5-f0df-4a7e-ad24-fc5aa61dbbe6_916x556.png"/><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!nzTb!,w_140,h_140,c_fill,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep,g_auto/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff8966cf5-f0df-4a7e-ad24-fc5aa61dbbe6_916x556.png" sizes="100vw" alt="Less meetings, more focused work" width="140" height="140" class="img-OACg1c smSquare-NGbPBa pencraft pc-reset"/></picture></div><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-flexDirection-column pc-reset"><h4 class="pencraft pc-reset color-pub-primary-text-NyXPlw line-height-24-jnGwiv font-display-nhmvtD size-20-P_cSRT weight-bold-DmI9lw reset-IxiVJZ">Less meetings, more focused work</h4><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-4 pc-alignItems-center pc-reset"><div class="pencraft pc-reset color-pub-secondary-text-hGQ02T line-height-20-t4M0El font-meta-MWBumP size-11-NuY2Zx weight-medium-fw81nC transform-uppercase-yKDgcq reset-IxiVJZ meta-EgzBVA"><a href="https://substack.com/profile/87732486-alex-ewerlof" class="inheritColor-WetTGJ">Alex Ewerlöf</a></div><div class="pencraft pc-reset color-pub-secondary-text-hGQ02T reset-IxiVJZ">·</div><div class="pencraft pc-reset color-pub-secondary-text-hGQ02T line-height-20-t4M0El font-meta-MWBumP size-11-NuY2Zx weight-medium-fw81nC transform-uppercase-yKDgcq reset-IxiVJZ meta-EgzBVA">June 6, 2023</div></div><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-16 pc-paddingTop-0 pc-paddingBottom-0 pc-alignItems-center pc-reset"><a href="https://blog.alexewerlof.com/p/less-meetings-more-focused-work" class="pencraft pc-reset align-center-y7ZD4w line-height-20-t4M0El font-text-qe4AeH size-13-hZTUKr weight-medium-fw81nC reset-IxiVJZ"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-alignItems-center pc-reset link-HREYZo"><span class="pencraft pc-reset color-accent-BVX_7M line-height-20-t4M0El font-text-qe4AeH size-14-MLPa7j weight-semibold-uqA4FV reset-IxiVJZ">Read full story</span><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="16" height="16" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-arrow-right"><path d="M5 12h14"></path><path d="m12 5 7 7-7 7"></path></svg></div></a></div></div></div></a></div><p>Writing, videos, delegation, and temporary task forces are a few ways I handle communication at scale. In an upcoming Note, we’ll dig into a full list of the tools to lead at scale.</p></li><li><p><strong>Your level difference is a higher risk:</strong><span> Senior Staff Engineer has no authority over Staff Engineers or Senior Engineers. In </span><a href="https://blog.alexewerlof.com/p/senior-engineer-to-staff-engineer">Senior Engineer to Staff Engineer</a><span> I mentioned that the level difference can cause confusion and jealousy. That risk is even higher for Senior Staff Engineer because now you have other leaders (Staff Engineers) below you. Leadership skills are powerful, yet hard to measure. My advice is the same: this higher level does not have higher authority, but higher responsibility and requires servantry. Your impact depends even more on the other engineers who are closer to code. You need to be service-minded and put the interests of the other engineers and the product ahead of yourself. Being transparent about your extra responsibilities can help diffuse jealousy and misunderstanding to some extent.</span></p></li><li><p><strong>You’re closer to “business”.</strong><span> You will be closer to how the money is made and are expected to fit the technical solutions to business problems. You get used to reading </span><a href="https://lethain.com/profit-and-loss-statement/">the numbers</a><span> and interpreting it to technical improvements. </span><a href="https://blog.alexewerlof.com/p/why-bother-with-sli-and-slo">Service levels</a><span> are powerful tools to connect operational data to business insights. This is my current engagement.</span></p></li></ul><p>That’s a lot, but that’s not all. As you can see, there’s a theme here: if Staff Engineering is about technical leadership, Senior Staff Engineering is about scaling that skill over a larger org, longer time horizon, and wider technical portfolio.</p><div data-component-name="SubscribeWidget" class="subscribe-widget"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-justifyContent-center pc-reset"><div class="container-IpPqBD"><form action="/api/v1/free?nojs=true" method="post" novalidate class="form form-M5sC90"><input type="hidden" name="first_url" value/><input type="hidden" name="first_referrer" value/><input type="hidden" name="current_url"/><input type="hidden" name="current_referrer"/><input type="hidden" name="first_session_url" value/><input type="hidden" name="first_session_referrer" value/><input type="hidden" name="referral_code"/><input type="hidden" name="source" value="subscribe-widget"/><input type="hidden" name="referring_pub_id"/><input type="hidden" name="additional_referring_pub_ids"/><input type="hidden" name="source_post_id" value="137814986"/><div class="sideBySideWrap-vGXrwP"><div class="emailInputWrapper-QlA86j"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-minWidth-0 pc-position-relative pc-reset flex-auto-j3S2WA"><input name="email" placeholder="Type your email..." type="email" class="pencraft emailInput-OkIMeB input-y4v6N4 inputText-pV_yWb"/></div></div><button tabindex="0" type="submit" disabled class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft rightButton primary subscribe-btn button-VFSdkv buttonBase-GK1x3M"><span class="button-text ">Subscribe</span></button></div><div id="error-container"></div></form></div></div></div><h1 class="header-anchor-post">Examples<div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-alignItems-center pc-position-absolute pc-reset header-anchor-parent"><div class="pencraft pc-display-contents pc-reset pubTheme-yiXxQA"><div id="§examples" class="pencraft pc-reset header-anchor offset-top"></div><button tabindex="0" type="button" aria-label="Link" data-href="https://blog.alexewerlof.com/i/137814986/examples" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft iconButton-mq_Et5 iconButtonBase-dJGHgN buttonBase-GK1x3M buttonStyle-r7yGCK size_sm-G3LciD priority_secondary-S63h9o"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="18" height="18" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-link"><path d="M10 13a5 5 0 0 0 7.54.54l3-3a5 5 0 0 0-7.07-7.07l-1.72 1.71"></path><path d="M14 11a5 5 0 0 0-7.54-.54l-3 3a5 5 0 0 0 7.07 7.07l1.71-1.71"></path></svg></button></div></div></h1><p>Let’s dive into some examples from my own career.</p><p><span>I was responsible for migrating the infrastructure behind the face of </span><a href="https://www.discoveryplus.com/">Discovery Plus</a><span> a few years ago. The stakes were high, and many things could go wrong.</span></p><p><span>That program required tight collaboration across 5 teams (old infra, new infra, frontend, edge, QA). I was fortunate to work with a seasoned </span><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabormundruczo/">TPM</a><span>. Together, we managed to pull this off in 6 months. That’s the kind of initiative that Staff Engineers should be able to drive multiple teams, in a few months.</span></p><p><span>As a Senior Staff Engineer, I have been involved in completely diverse types of initiatives that span anywhere from non-technical (launching our </span><a href="https://medium.com/volvo-cars-engineering">engineering blog</a><span>), to semi-technical (writing </span><a href="https://blog.alexewerlof.com/p/strategy-basics">strategy</a><span>), to very technical (rolling out </span><a href="https://blog.alexewerlof.com/p/why-bother-with-sli-and-slo">service levels</a><span> across a large organization).</span></p><p>I’ve mentored enormous potential, sponsored staff-level initiatives for senior engineers, and helped shape our recruitment process and career ladder. A substantial portion of my time goes to synchronizing across the org, yet I must find time to work closely with the engineers who do the main chunk of the work.</p><p>However, the size of the organization (1600 people) is so large that I cannot afford to visit everyone in every hub on a regular basis. Writing and creating videos have helped to scale myself across to scale my initiatives.</p><p>Objectively, I spend less time coding than coaching.</p><p>My role enjoys more visibility, but it comes with heavier responsibilities.</p><p>And the definition of a good day? I have none! Most of my tasks are long running across a quarter or year:</p><ul><li><p>A good quarter is when we are on track executing a strategy and the engineers I serve have grown in their skills, careers, and passion.</p></li><li><p>A good year is when we have increased efficiency and effectiveness solving business problems.</p></li></ul><p>Yeah, it sounds fluffy. But there’s no better way to sum up the wide range of challenges and impact at the high level.</p><p><span>The definition of fun changed. When I was a senior engineer, I loved working only with computers: they're logical, quick, accurate and predictable. Humans are emotional, slow, inaccurate, and have their own agenda.</span><br/><br/><span>Now I enjoy connecting a large number of people and computers.</span></p><p><span>The learning curve has been steep (like when I was learning React) but it's more rewarding because as it turns out most engineers either don't </span><em>want</em><span> this career path or don't </span><em>know</em><span> where to start.</span></p><p><span>The </span><a href="https://blog.alexewerlof.com/s/tech-lead">tech lead section of my newsletter</a><span> is primarily targeting the latter.</span></p><h1 class="header-anchor-post">The [updated] model<div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-alignItems-center pc-position-absolute pc-reset header-anchor-parent"><div class="pencraft pc-display-contents pc-reset pubTheme-yiXxQA"><div id="§the-updated-model" class="pencraft pc-reset header-anchor offset-top"></div><button tabindex="0" type="button" aria-label="Link" data-href="https://blog.alexewerlof.com/i/137814986/the-updated-model" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft iconButton-mq_Et5 iconButtonBase-dJGHgN buttonBase-GK1x3M buttonStyle-r7yGCK size_sm-G3LciD priority_secondary-S63h9o"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="18" height="18" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-link"><path d="M10 13a5 5 0 0 0 7.54.54l3-3a5 5 0 0 0-7.07-7.07l-1.72 1.71"></path><path d="M14 11a5 5 0 0 0-7.54-.54l-3 3a5 5 0 0 0 7.07 7.07l1.71-1.71"></path></svg></button></div></div></h1><p>I hope by this point, it is obvious that my initial mental model was wrong. Unless you have superhuman abilities (I don’t) or crazy IQ (I don’t), it’s not a realistic expectation to be deep in all technologies across a larger organization.</p><p>There needs to be a trade-off. The sweet spot varies depending on the needs of the business at different times.</p><p>20 months into the job, this is how I see the difference between the role of Senior Staff Engineer in relation to the Staff Engineer:</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!el1v!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0a2e89d9-ae6f-4244-9e5a-1e9ba965e6da_692x569.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM" class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img can-restack"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!el1v!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0a2e89d9-ae6f-4244-9e5a-1e9ba965e6da_692x569.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!el1v!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0a2e89d9-ae6f-4244-9e5a-1e9ba965e6da_692x569.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!el1v!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0a2e89d9-ae6f-4244-9e5a-1e9ba965e6da_692x569.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!el1v!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0a2e89d9-ae6f-4244-9e5a-1e9ba965e6da_692x569.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"/><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!el1v!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0a2e89d9-ae6f-4244-9e5a-1e9ba965e6da_692x569.png" width="692" height="569" data-attrs="{"src":"https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/0a2e89d9-ae6f-4244-9e5a-1e9ba965e6da_692x569.png","srcNoWatermark":null,"fullscreen":null,"imageSize":null,"height":569,"width":692,"resizeWidth":null,"bytes":72904,"alt":null,"title":null,"type":"image/png","href":null,"belowTheFold":true,"topImage":false,"internalRedirect":null,"isProcessing":false,"align":null,"offset":false}" alt srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!el1v!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0a2e89d9-ae6f-4244-9e5a-1e9ba965e6da_692x569.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!el1v!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0a2e89d9-ae6f-4244-9e5a-1e9ba965e6da_692x569.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!el1v!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0a2e89d9-ae6f-4244-9e5a-1e9ba965e6da_692x569.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!el1v!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0a2e89d9-ae6f-4244-9e5a-1e9ba965e6da_692x569.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy" class="sizing-normal"/></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p><span>We all have the same number of working hours, and it is up to us how we spend that time. Some become deeper in a few key technical areas while others cover a larger organizational surface. The “senior” in the title does not mean more years of experience. After all, “year” is </span><a href="https://blog.alexewerlof.com/p/on-years-as-a-unit-of-measurement">fundamentally the wrong unit</a><span> of measurement for experience.</span></p><p>The “senior” part carries more expectations, larger scope, and longer time horizon. This requires a different toolbox to deliver higher impact, and at scale.</p><p>I already talked about writing and videos. In a future article I will share my notes about all the tools I’ve picked up along the way to deliver impact across a larger organization without being burned out.</p><h1 class="header-anchor-post">Conclusion<div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-alignItems-center pc-position-absolute pc-reset header-anchor-parent"><div class="pencraft pc-display-contents pc-reset pubTheme-yiXxQA"><div id="§conclusion" class="pencraft pc-reset header-anchor offset-top"></div><button tabindex="0" type="button" aria-label="Link" data-href="https://blog.alexewerlof.com/i/137814986/conclusion" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft iconButton-mq_Et5 iconButtonBase-dJGHgN buttonBase-GK1x3M buttonStyle-r7yGCK size_sm-G3LciD priority_secondary-S63h9o"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="18" height="18" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-link"><path d="M10 13a5 5 0 0 0 7.54.54l3-3a5 5 0 0 0-7.07-7.07l-1.72 1.71"></path><path d="M14 11a5 5 0 0 0-7.54-.54l-3 3a5 5 0 0 0 7.07 7.07l1.71-1.71"></path></svg></button></div></div></h1><p>There are a lot of similarities between Staff Engineer and Senior Staff Engineer. The differences boil down to the size of the organization, technical depth, and time horizon to drive impact.</p><p>If you are looking to grow your career beyond the Staff Engineer level, you may need to focus on scaling your current toolset and picking up new methods to increase your reach and useful bandwidth.</p><p>🟢If you are curious, have a growth mindset, and are flexible, you’ve got this.</p><p>🟠If you take this role for the prestige or pay, you’re in for a tough ride</p><p>🔴If your goal is to move away from code, please stop! I have an upcoming article about Ivory Tower Staff Engineers and the damage they can inflict on a scale!</p><div data-attrs="{"url":"https://blog.alexewerlof.com/p/beyond-staff-engineer?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share","text":"Share"}" data-component-name="CaptionedButtonToDOM" class="captioned-button-wrap"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">If you find this article insightful, please share it within your circles to inspire your friends and colleagues. Thank you! 💛</p></div><p data-attrs="{"url":"https://blog.alexewerlof.com/p/beyond-staff-engineer?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share","text":"Share"}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton" class="button-wrapper"><a href="https://blog.alexewerlof.com/p/beyond-staff-engineer?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share" class="button primary"><span>Share</span></a></p></div><div data-component-name="DigestPostEmbed" class="digestPostEmbed-flwiST"><a href="https://blog.alexewerlof.com/p/when-staff-engineer-is-an-anti-pattern" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-16 pc-reset"><div style="width:70px;height:70px;" class="pencraft pc-reset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!VUAz!,w_140,h_140,c_fill,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep,g_auto/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9ebaf1c2-783b-4467-8b4b-266025e5cdf4_1096x1022.png"/><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!VUAz!,w_140,h_140,c_fill,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep,g_auto/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9ebaf1c2-783b-4467-8b4b-266025e5cdf4_1096x1022.png" sizes="100vw" alt="When Staff Engineer is an anti-pattern" width="140" height="140" class="img-OACg1c smSquare-NGbPBa pencraft pc-reset"/></picture></div><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-flexDirection-column pc-reset"><h4 class="pencraft pc-reset color-pub-primary-text-NyXPlw line-height-24-jnGwiv font-display-nhmvtD size-20-P_cSRT weight-bold-DmI9lw reset-IxiVJZ">When Staff Engineer is an anti-pattern</h4><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-4 pc-alignItems-center pc-reset"><div class="pencraft pc-reset color-pub-secondary-text-hGQ02T line-height-20-t4M0El font-meta-MWBumP size-11-NuY2Zx weight-medium-fw81nC transform-uppercase-yKDgcq reset-IxiVJZ meta-EgzBVA"><a href="https://substack.com/profile/87732486-alex-ewerlof" class="inheritColor-WetTGJ">Alex Ewerlöf</a></div><div class="pencraft pc-reset color-pub-secondary-text-hGQ02T reset-IxiVJZ">·</div><div class="pencraft pc-reset color-pub-secondary-text-hGQ02T line-height-20-t4M0El font-meta-MWBumP size-11-NuY2Zx weight-medium-fw81nC transform-uppercase-yKDgcq reset-IxiVJZ meta-EgzBVA">February 12, 2024</div></div><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-16 pc-paddingTop-0 pc-paddingBottom-0 pc-alignItems-center pc-reset"><a href="https://blog.alexewerlof.com/p/when-staff-engineer-is-an-anti-pattern" class="pencraft pc-reset align-center-y7ZD4w line-height-20-t4M0El font-text-qe4AeH size-13-hZTUKr weight-medium-fw81nC reset-IxiVJZ"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-alignItems-center pc-reset link-HREYZo"><span class="pencraft pc-reset color-accent-BVX_7M line-height-20-t4M0El font-text-qe4AeH size-14-MLPa7j weight-semibold-uqA4FV reset-IxiVJZ">Read full story</span><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="16" height="16" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-arrow-right"><path d="M5 12h14"></path><path d="m12 5 7 7-7 7"></path></svg></div></a></div></div></div></a></div></div></div><div class="visibility-check"></div></div><div class="post-footer"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-16 pc-paddingTop-16 pc-paddingBottom-16 pc-justifyContent-space-between pc-alignItems-center pc-reset flex-grow-rzmknG border-top-detail-themed-k9TZAY border-bottom-detail-themed-Ua9186 post-ufi"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><div class="like-button-container post-ufi-button style-button"><button tabindex="0" type="button" aria-label="Like (91)" 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What are the challenges and toolset to handle higher complexity across a larger organization?\",\"body_html\":\"<p>20 months ago, when I accepted a job as a <em>Senior</em> Staff Engineer, I had no idea what I was getting into!</p><p>I thought to myself:</p><blockquote><p>Sure, I\u2019ve been a Staff Engineer before; how hard could the \u201CSenior\u201D part be?</p></blockquote><p>As it turns out, very! \uD83D\uDE2E</p><p>Before taking the job, I thought Senior Staff would be like Staff but more! This is what I was prepared for:</p><ul><li><p>More people to serve, more organizational surface to cover</p></li><li><p>More technologies to master, and at more depth</p></li></ul><div class=\\\"captioned-image-container\\\"><figure><a class=\\\"image-link image2 is-viewable-img\\\" target=\\\"_blank\\\" href=\\\"https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!glgZ!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcd9a3948-19b4-40ca-8ebd-59d4185af195_943x843.png\\\" data-component-name=\\\"Image2ToDOM\\\"><div class=\\\"image2-inset\\\"><picture><source type=\\\"image/webp\\\" srcset=\\\"https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!glgZ!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcd9a3948-19b4-40ca-8ebd-59d4185af195_943x843.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!glgZ!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcd9a3948-19b4-40ca-8ebd-59d4185af195_943x843.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!glgZ!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcd9a3948-19b4-40ca-8ebd-59d4185af195_943x843.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!glgZ!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcd9a3948-19b4-40ca-8ebd-59d4185af195_943x843.png 1456w\\\" sizes=\\\"100vw\\\"><img src=\\\"https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!glgZ!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcd9a3948-19b4-40ca-8ebd-59d4185af195_943x843.png\\\" width=\\\"943\\\" height=\\\"843\\\" data-attrs=\\\"{"src":"https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/cd9a3948-19b4-40ca-8ebd-59d4185af195_943x843.png","srcNoWatermark":null,"fullscreen":null,"imageSize":null,"height":843,"width":943,"resizeWidth":null,"bytes":46423,"alt":null,"title":null,"type":"image/png","href":null,"belowTheFold":false,"topImage":true,"internalRedirect":null,"isProcessing":false,"align":null,"offset":false}\\\" class=\\\"sizing-normal\\\" alt=\\\"\\\" srcset=\\\"https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!glgZ!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcd9a3948-19b4-40ca-8ebd-59d4185af195_943x843.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!glgZ!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcd9a3948-19b4-40ca-8ebd-59d4185af195_943x843.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!glgZ!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcd9a3948-19b4-40ca-8ebd-59d4185af195_943x843.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!glgZ!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcd9a3948-19b4-40ca-8ebd-59d4185af195_943x843.png 1456w\\\" sizes=\\\"100vw\\\" fetchpriority=\\\"high\\\"></picture><div class=\\\"image-link-expand\\\"><div class=\\\"pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset\\\"><button tabindex=\\\"0\\\" type=\\\"button\\\" class=\\\"pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image\\\"><svg aria-hidden=\\\"true\\\" width=\\\"20\\\" height=\\\"20\\\" viewBox=\\\"0 0 20 20\\\" fill=\\\"none\\\" stroke-width=\\\"1.5\\\" stroke=\\\"var(--color-fg-primary)\\\" stroke-linecap=\\\"round\\\" stroke-linejoin=\\\"round\\\" xmlns=\\\"http://www.w3.org/2000/svg\\\"><g><path d=\\\"M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882\\\"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex=\\\"0\\\" type=\\\"button\\\" class=\\\"pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image\\\"><svg xmlns=\\\"http://www.w3.org/2000/svg\\\" width=\\\"20\\\" height=\\\"20\\\" viewBox=\\\"0 0 24 24\\\" fill=\\\"none\\\" stroke=\\\"currentColor\\\" stroke-width=\\\"2\\\" stroke-linecap=\\\"round\\\" stroke-linejoin=\\\"round\\\" class=\\\"lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2\\\"><polyline points=\\\"15 3 21 3 21 9\\\"></polyline><polyline points=\\\"9 21 3 21 3 15\\\"></polyline><line x1=\\\"21\\\" x2=\\\"14\\\" y1=\\\"3\\\" y2=\\\"10\\\"></line><line x1=\\\"3\\\" x2=\\\"10\\\" y1=\\\"21\\\" y2=\\\"14\\\"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>In theory, this model is ideal. In practice, it misses a few important nuances and can easily lead to feeling overwhelmed.</p><p>Before unpacking <em>Senior</em> Staff Engineer, let\u2019s have a look at the <em>regular</em> Staff Engineer role because as we\u2019ll see ambiguity is a theme in both roles.</p><h2>The role of Staff Engineer</h2><p>The term \u201Cstaff\u201D <a href=\\\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staff_%28military%29\\\">is used in the military</a> to promote great soldiers as role models without giving them extra command and control responsibilities.</p><p>Staff officers assist the <em>commanders</em> in planning, analysis, and information gathering. The commanders have <em><a href=\\\"https://www.armyupress.army.mil/Journals/Military-Review/English-Edition-Archives/November-December-2020/Starr-Great-Leaders/\\\">authority</a></em><a href=\\\"https://www.armyupress.army.mil/Journals/Military-Review/English-Edition-Archives/November-December-2020/Starr-Great-Leaders/\\\"> and </a><em><a href=\\\"https://www.armyupress.army.mil/Journals/Military-Review/English-Edition-Archives/November-December-2020/Starr-Great-Leaders/\\\">accountability</a></em> over their subordinates. Staff officers don\u2019t.</p><div class=\\\"digest-post-embed\\\" data-attrs=\\\"{"nodeId":"b4cd0158-827d-446d-95a8-bf82f44c3d74","caption":"I work as a Senior Staff Engineer. One of my most important missions is to help grow the next generation of leaders using a variety of tools. One such tool is mentorship. Mentorship is a two-way street however, because I get to learn from the experience and questions of someone who has put their trust in me.","cta":null,"showBylines":true,"showDescription":true,"showImage":true,"size":"sm","isEditorNode":true,"title":"Senior to Staff Engineer","publishedBylines":[{"id":87732486,"name":"Alex Ewerl\u00F6f","bio":"Senior Staff Engineer at Volvo. MSc Systems Engineering, KTH. Stockholmer, dad, amateur artist.\\\\n\\\\nWrites about technical leadership, growth and software.\\\\n\\\\nRead more here: https://www.alexewerlof.com/who","photo_url":"https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe2713990-da82-481b-b579-01a7aaa5b85b_560x560.jpeg","is_guest":false,"bestseller_tier":null}],"post_date":"2023-09-09T10:00:40.322Z","cover_image":"https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff615525c-7ab0-4f15-99be-eae23ec1bcc5_664x650.png","cover_image_alt":null,"canonical_url":"https://blog.alexewerlof.com/p/senior-engineer-to-staff-engineer","section_name":"Tech Lead","video_upload_id":null,"id":136824265,"type":"newsletter","reaction_count":29,"comment_count":2,"publication_id":null,"publication_name":"Alex Ewerl\u00F6f Notes","publication_logo_url":"https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8c58cb07-9341-402b-bcdb-9fa767c2cdac_500x500.png","belowTheFold":true,"youtube_url":null,"show_links":null,"feed_url":null}\\\"></div><p>The tech industry sometimes refers to the Staff Engineer role with alternative names like Principal Engineer (e.g., Amazon or Microsoft) or Tech Lead. But the common part is the same: it is an IC (individual contributor) role without management responsibility over people.</p><p>Promoting the best engineers to management positions is not necessarily productive or desired (<a href=\\\"https://chat.openai.com/share/ee74bad0-7ad0-495f-a77e-738edbe9e90e\\\">few examples</a> from ChatGPT). Modern career ladders acknowledge this fact and provide an alternative between focusing on <strong>people</strong> or <strong>technical</strong> responsibilities:</p><div class=\\\"captioned-image-container\\\"><figure><a class=\\\"image-link image2 is-viewable-img\\\" target=\\\"_blank\\\" href=\\\"https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!dR-5!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F61e45334-8472-41ca-b350-3b6715a93f06_971x972.png\\\" data-component-name=\\\"Image2ToDOM\\\"><div class=\\\"image2-inset\\\"><picture><source type=\\\"image/webp\\\" srcset=\\\"https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!dR-5!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F61e45334-8472-41ca-b350-3b6715a93f06_971x972.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!dR-5!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F61e45334-8472-41ca-b350-3b6715a93f06_971x972.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!dR-5!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F61e45334-8472-41ca-b350-3b6715a93f06_971x972.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!dR-5!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F61e45334-8472-41ca-b350-3b6715a93f06_971x972.png 1456w\\\" sizes=\\\"100vw\\\"><img src=\\\"https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!dR-5!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F61e45334-8472-41ca-b350-3b6715a93f06_971x972.png\\\" width=\\\"971\\\" height=\\\"972\\\" data-attrs=\\\"{"src":"https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/61e45334-8472-41ca-b350-3b6715a93f06_971x972.png","srcNoWatermark":null,"fullscreen":null,"imageSize":null,"height":972,"width":971,"resizeWidth":null,"bytes":153566,"alt":null,"title":null,"type":"image/png","href":null,"belowTheFold":true,"topImage":false,"internalRedirect":null,"isProcessing":false,"align":null,"offset":false}\\\" class=\\\"sizing-normal\\\" alt=\\\"\\\" srcset=\\\"https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!dR-5!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F61e45334-8472-41ca-b350-3b6715a93f06_971x972.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!dR-5!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F61e45334-8472-41ca-b350-3b6715a93f06_971x972.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!dR-5!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F61e45334-8472-41ca-b350-3b6715a93f06_971x972.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!dR-5!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F61e45334-8472-41ca-b350-3b6715a93f06_971x972.png 1456w\\\" sizes=\\\"100vw\\\" loading=\\\"lazy\\\"></picture><div class=\\\"image-link-expand\\\"><div class=\\\"pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset\\\"><button tabindex=\\\"0\\\" type=\\\"button\\\" class=\\\"pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image\\\"><svg aria-hidden=\\\"true\\\" width=\\\"20\\\" height=\\\"20\\\" viewBox=\\\"0 0 20 20\\\" fill=\\\"none\\\" stroke-width=\\\"1.5\\\" stroke=\\\"var(--color-fg-primary)\\\" stroke-linecap=\\\"round\\\" stroke-linejoin=\\\"round\\\" xmlns=\\\"http://www.w3.org/2000/svg\\\"><g><path d=\\\"M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882\\\"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex=\\\"0\\\" type=\\\"button\\\" class=\\\"pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image\\\"><svg xmlns=\\\"http://www.w3.org/2000/svg\\\" width=\\\"20\\\" height=\\\"20\\\" viewBox=\\\"0 0 24 24\\\" fill=\\\"none\\\" stroke=\\\"currentColor\\\" stroke-width=\\\"2\\\" stroke-linecap=\\\"round\\\" stroke-linejoin=\\\"round\\\" class=\\\"lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2\\\"><polyline points=\\\"15 3 21 3 21 9\\\"></polyline><polyline points=\\\"9 21 3 21 3 15\\\"></polyline><line x1=\\\"21\\\" x2=\\\"14\\\" y1=\\\"3\\\" y2=\\\"10\\\"></line><line x1=\\\"3\\\" x2=\\\"10\\\" y1=\\\"21\\\" y2=\\\"14\\\"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>In a career ladder, the change in title is often coupled with a change in expectations and impact. Staff Engineer is not \u201Cmore engineer\u201D than Senior Engineer but adds a different dimension as we discussed in the previous article:</p><div class=\\\"digest-post-embed\\\" data-attrs=\\\"{"nodeId":"1c38e5ff-83f7-4cca-9b5a-007224602f9b","caption":"In Senior Engineer to Staff Engineer, we made an argument that the change in the title signifies a change in responsibilities and skillset. In beyond Staff Engineer, we went through the differences between Staff Engineer and Senior Staff Engineer. The key takeaway from that article is that Senior Staff Engineer is like Staff but on a larger scale.","cta":null,"showBylines":true,"showDescription":true,"showImage":true,"size":"sm","isEditorNode":true,"title":"Principal Engineer","publishedBylines":[{"id":87732486,"name":"Alex Ewerl\u00F6f","bio":"Writes about technical leadership, growth mindset, and system reliability engineering.\\\\n\\\\nSenior Staff Engineer, MSc Systems Engineering from KTH, Stockholmer, dad, amateur artist.\\\\n\\\\nRead more here: https://www.alexewerlof.com/who","photo_url":"https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe2713990-da82-481b-b579-01a7aaa5b85b_560x560.jpeg","is_guest":false,"bestseller_tier":null}],"post_date":"2024-04-15T04:30:30.548Z","cover_image":"https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcce23842-1fb3-40b0-a44e-a0931de15539_970x973.png","cover_image_alt":null,"canonical_url":"https://blog.alexewerlof.com/p/principal-engineer","section_name":"Techical Leadership","video_upload_id":null,"id":143581775,"type":"newsletter","reaction_count":6,"comment_count":0,"publication_id":null,"publication_name":"Alex Ewerl\u00F6f Notes","publication_logo_url":"https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8c58cb07-9341-402b-bcdb-9fa767c2cdac_500x500.png","belowTheFold":true,"youtube_url":null,"show_links":null,"feed_url":null}\\\"></div><p>Just like their military counterparts Staff Engineers:</p><ul><li><p>Serve as role models for other engineers</p></li><li><p>Act as trusted advisors for engineering leaders</p></li><li><p>Have no direct reports and mandate over people or product</p></li></ul><p>Not every \u201Ccommander\u201D needs a \u201Cstaff\u201D. <a href=\\\"https://www.patkua.com/about/\\\">Patrick Kua</a> defined <a href=\\\"https://www.patkua.com/blog/5-engineering-manager-archetypes/\\\">5 archetypes for engineering managers</a>, some of whom are technical enough to lead their area without needing a Staff Engineer to act as a trusted advisor.</p><div class=\\\"captioned-image-container\\\"><figure><a class=\\\"image-link image2 is-viewable-img\\\" target=\\\"_blank\\\" href=\\\"https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!RUXv!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F72ae5b6f-c67e-404f-9507-87825bbd5942_1000x500.png\\\" data-component-name=\\\"Image2ToDOM\\\"><div class=\\\"image2-inset\\\"><picture><source type=\\\"image/webp\\\" srcset=\\\"https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!RUXv!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F72ae5b6f-c67e-404f-9507-87825bbd5942_1000x500.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!RUXv!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F72ae5b6f-c67e-404f-9507-87825bbd5942_1000x500.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!RUXv!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F72ae5b6f-c67e-404f-9507-87825bbd5942_1000x500.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!RUXv!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F72ae5b6f-c67e-404f-9507-87825bbd5942_1000x500.png 1456w\\\" sizes=\\\"100vw\\\"><img src=\\\"https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!RUXv!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F72ae5b6f-c67e-404f-9507-87825bbd5942_1000x500.png\\\" width=\\\"1000\\\" height=\\\"500\\\" data-attrs=\\\"{"src":"https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/72ae5b6f-c67e-404f-9507-87825bbd5942_1000x500.png","srcNoWatermark":null,"fullscreen":null,"imageSize":null,"height":500,"width":1000,"resizeWidth":null,"bytes":null,"alt":"Engineering Manager Archetype Summary","title":null,"type":null,"href":null,"belowTheFold":true,"topImage":false,"internalRedirect":null,"isProcessing":false,"align":null,"offset":false}\\\" class=\\\"sizing-normal\\\" alt=\\\"Engineering Manager Archetype Summary\\\" title=\\\"Engineering Manager Archetype Summary\\\" srcset=\\\"https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!RUXv!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F72ae5b6f-c67e-404f-9507-87825bbd5942_1000x500.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!RUXv!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F72ae5b6f-c67e-404f-9507-87825bbd5942_1000x500.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!RUXv!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F72ae5b6f-c67e-404f-9507-87825bbd5942_1000x500.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!RUXv!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F72ae5b6f-c67e-404f-9507-87825bbd5942_1000x500.png 1456w\\\" sizes=\\\"100vw\\\" loading=\\\"lazy\\\"></picture><div class=\\\"image-link-expand\\\"><div class=\\\"pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset\\\"><button tabindex=\\\"0\\\" type=\\\"button\\\" class=\\\"pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image\\\"><svg aria-hidden=\\\"true\\\" width=\\\"20\\\" height=\\\"20\\\" viewBox=\\\"0 0 20 20\\\" fill=\\\"none\\\" stroke-width=\\\"1.5\\\" stroke=\\\"var(--color-fg-primary)\\\" stroke-linecap=\\\"round\\\" stroke-linejoin=\\\"round\\\" xmlns=\\\"http://www.w3.org/2000/svg\\\"><g><path d=\\\"M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882\\\"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex=\\\"0\\\" type=\\\"button\\\" class=\\\"pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image\\\"><svg xmlns=\\\"http://www.w3.org/2000/svg\\\" width=\\\"20\\\" height=\\\"20\\\" viewBox=\\\"0 0 24 24\\\" fill=\\\"none\\\" stroke=\\\"currentColor\\\" stroke-width=\\\"2\\\" stroke-linecap=\\\"round\\\" stroke-linejoin=\\\"round\\\" class=\\\"lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2\\\"><polyline points=\\\"15 3 21 3 21 9\\\"></polyline><polyline points=\\\"9 21 3 21 3 15\\\"></polyline><line x1=\\\"21\\\" x2=\\\"14\\\" y1=\\\"3\\\" y2=\\\"10\\\"></line><line x1=\\\"3\\\" x2=\\\"10\\\" y1=\\\"21\\\" y2=\\\"14\\\"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class=\\\"image-caption\\\">Source: <a href=\\\"https://www.patkua.com/blog/5-engineering-manager-archetypes/\\\">5 Engineering Manager Archetypes</a></figcaption></figure></div><p>However, when the engineering managers are responsible for a larger organization, they often have less time to spend on the tech part. As a result, they end up with a more abstract and outdated view about what\u2019s going on at the technical level. This technical gap is something that the Staff Engineers can perfectly fill.</p><p>Unlike frontend, backend, mobile, or data engineers, the role of the Staff Engineer varies depending on the needs of the organization and potential of the individuals.</p><p>It is not surprising that there are at least <a href=\\\"https://staffeng.com/guides/staff-archetypes/\\\">4 archetypes for Staff Engineers</a> (some count <a href=\\\"https://twitter.com/thiagoghisi/status/1572407124390445056?lang=en\\\">6</a>!):</p><ul><li><p><strong>Right hand:</strong> borrows the authority of the leadership to make technical decisions</p></li><li><p><strong>Solver:</strong> is very deep in a particular technical area that spans across multiple teams</p></li><li><p><strong>Tech lead:</strong> acts as the technical representative of a large team with complex solution</p></li><li><p><strong>Architect:</strong> designs technical solutions in relation to user/business requirements <em>(note: I don\u2019t believe in the value of this archetype, but that\u2019s the story for another post)</em></p></li></ul><div class=\\\"subscription-widget-wrap-editor\\\" data-attrs=\\\"{"url":"https://blog.alexewerlof.com/subscribe?","text":"Subscribe","language":"en"}\\\" data-component-name=\\\"SubscribeWidgetToDOM\\\"><div class=\\\"subscription-widget show-subscribe\\\"><div class=\\\"preamble\\\"><p class=\\\"cta-caption\\\">If you want to get the latest post when it\u2019s out, here\u2019s how to do it:</p></div><form class=\\\"subscription-widget-subscribe\\\"><input type=\\\"email\\\" class=\\\"email-input\\\" name=\\\"email\\\" placeholder=\\\"Type your email\u2026\\\" tabindex=\\\"-1\\\"><input type=\\\"submit\\\" class=\\\"button primary\\\" value=\\\"Subscribe\\\"><div class=\\\"fake-input-wrapper\\\"><div class=\\\"fake-input\\\"></div><div class=\\\"fake-button\\\"></div></div></form></div></div><p>Let\u2019s switch gears to the level that comes after Staff Engineer.</p><h2>The Senior part!</h2><p>Some companies call it <em>Senior Staff</em>, some call it <em><a href=\\\"https://leaddev.com/career-ladders/who-are-staff-principal-and-distinguished-engineers\\\">Principal Engineer</a></em> (yes, confusingly the same term is also used for Staff Engineer), while others prefer <em>Technical Director</em>.</p><p>Regardless of the title in a particular career ladder, we are talking about the level that follows another <em>individual contributor</em> technical <em>leadership</em> role.</p><div class=\\\"pullquote\\\"><p>If Staff Engineering is about technical leadership, the level after is about doing that at scale.</p></div><p><strong>Senior Staff Engineer</strong> really takes its meaning in relation to the <strong>Staff Engineer</strong> role:</p><ul><li><p><strong>It is still technical, but different.</strong> You need to be more comfortable with the unknown. The higher level usually translates to fewer opportunities and time to work hands on with the code (except for the solver archetype). You need to be better at building trust, finding relevant information, verifying what you find, and streamlining the decision-making process. You must accept that you don\u2019t have all the answers and instead work effectively with people smarter than you.</p></li><li><p><strong>It is still a leadership position, but different.</strong> Your ideas often go through other hands to be implemented. You need to be more comfortable at delegating and building alignment through setting standards, coaching, mentorship, sponsorship and developing strategies.</p></li><li><p><strong>It is still an individual contributor (IC) role, but harder.</strong> There are more interactions, expectations, and dotted reporting lines. A common complaint by Staff Engineers is that the lack of mandate over people slows them down. I call it \u201Clearning leadership the hard way\u201D and have an upcoming post about all the tools that I have picked up over time to lead without mandate.</p></li><li><p><strong>It is closer to C-level:</strong> You are expected to act as a bridge between the CEO; CTO, CFO, etc. and the engineers working at the leaf nodes of the organization tree (technical solutions). Sometimes you act as a representative for the developers, sometimes you act as an ambassador for the company leadership.</p></li><li><p><strong>It still interacts with teams, but it is more ephemeral.</strong> One of the best ways to get a good understanding about the technology in use is to work with teams. Don\u2019t let your level on the career ladder shield you from reality. Personally, I dive deep into 1-2 clusters (50-200 people) every 2-4 months. This allows me to get to know people I\u2019m supposed to serve, but also work closer to the problem areas. It is hard to make an impact without having a good grip on the technical solutions. So far, I haven\u2019t found a better way than working closely with the teams to gain first-hand experience with technical capabilities, limitations, requirements, and how they fit together. As a bonus, my temporary involvement with those teams allows me to see the big picture and cross-pollinate best practices.</p></li><li><p><strong>It is still a strategic role, but over a longer horizon.</strong> When I was a Senior Engineer, a good day meant that I released good code. When I became a Staff, I had less of those days and instead the definition of good day changed to taking a step in the right direction towards a quarterly or yearly objective. As a Senior Staff Engineer, I rarely see the immediate impact of the initiatives I\u2019m driving. It feels more like building a staircase than climbing a step at a time.</p><div class=\\\"digest-post-embed\\\" data-attrs=\\\"{"nodeId":"3e268322-7d4f-43a2-a64e-b224146e07d9","caption":"Strategy is one of the most powerful tools for change-leadership. Yet it is heavily misunderstood, underutilized, and abused. How can a tool be used properly if it\u2019s not well-understood? If there was a survey of abused professional words, \u201Cstrategy\u201D would be right at the top along with \u201Cagile\u201D, \u201CAI\u201D and \u201Cplatform\u201D. It is broadly used as a fancy substitute for goals, visions, decisions, tactics, policies, or even fluffy dreams. In the absence of a formal definition, anything can pass as strategy.","cta":null,"showBylines":true,"showDescription":true,"showImage":true,"size":"sm","isEditorNode":true,"title":"Strategy basics","publishedBylines":[{"id":87732486,"name":"Alex Ewerl\u00F6f","bio":"Senior Staff Engineer at Volvo. MSc Systems Engineering, KTH. Stockholmer, dad, amateur artist.\\\\n\\\\nWrites about technical leadership, growth and software.\\\\n\\\\nRead more here: https://www.alexewerlof.com/who","photo_url":"https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe2713990-da82-481b-b579-01a7aaa5b85b_560x560.jpeg","is_guest":false,"bestseller_tier":null}],"post_date":"2022-12-05T05:00:58.079Z","cover_image":"https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/h_600,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5742d3bf-435f-4f93-a7d5-d0df2f5aa4e0_1150x539.png","cover_image_alt":null,"canonical_url":"https://blog.alexewerlof.com/p/strategy-basics","section_name":"Tech Lead","video_upload_id":null,"id":88590326,"type":"newsletter","reaction_count":26,"comment_count":4,"publication_id":null,"publication_name":"Alex Ewerl\u00F6f Notes","publication_logo_url":"https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8c58cb07-9341-402b-bcdb-9fa767c2cdac_500x500.png","belowTheFold":true,"youtube_url":null,"show_links":null,"feed_url":null}\\\"></div></li><li><p><strong>There is still autonomy, but more.</strong> Senior Staff Engineers have more autonomy than Staff Engineers. You need to be better at managing expectations, juggling tasks, and your energy to have a sustainable impact. One of the things that helped me to communicate my accountability is to have an open TODO list and calendar visible to everyone at the company. I\u2019ve been taking notes to share about that experience and how it helped me manage expectations, as a side effect!</p></li><li><p><strong>Communication is still important, but different.</strong> You spend more time in the room with upper management. Sometimes you must talk about complex technical topics to a less-technical audience. Other times, you must break down high level decisions to actionable technical directions for teams and individuals. And you must do all of that on a scale. The sheer number of people in my network is easily 10x the number I had to support as a Staff Engineer. At this scale 1:1\u2019s, slides or meetings don\u2019t work as effectively.<br></p><div class=\\\"digest-post-embed\\\" data-attrs=\\\"{"nodeId":"fd86c4cb-7d1f-4cfa-8076-c2c85876270d","caption":"At most companies, meetings are the cost of doing business, not a product that\u2019s directly sellable to the customer. And the numbers show: According to research from Fuze, unproductive meetings waste 15% of an organization\u2019s collective paid time. For middle management, that figure increases to 35%. For upper management, that figure is 50%!","cta":null,"showBylines":true,"showDescription":true,"showImage":true,"size":"sm","isEditorNode":true,"title":"Less meetings, more focused work","publishedBylines":[{"id":87732486,"name":"Alex Ewerl\u00F6f","bio":"Senior Staff Engineer at Volvo. MSc Systems Engineering, KTH. Stockholmer, dad, amateur artist.\\\\n\\\\nWrites about technical leadership, growth and software.\\\\n\\\\nRead more here: https://www.alexewerlof.com/who","photo_url":"https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe2713990-da82-481b-b579-01a7aaa5b85b_560x560.jpeg","is_guest":false,"bestseller_tier":null}],"post_date":"2023-06-06T08:29:23.426Z","cover_image":"https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff8966cf5-f0df-4a7e-ad24-fc5aa61dbbe6_916x556.png","cover_image_alt":null,"canonical_url":"https://blog.alexewerlof.com/p/less-meetings-more-focused-work","section_name":"Growth","video_upload_id":null,"id":126153830,"type":"newsletter","reaction_count":7,"comment_count":0,"publication_id":null,"publication_name":"Alex Ewerl\u00F6f Notes","publication_logo_url":"https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8c58cb07-9341-402b-bcdb-9fa767c2cdac_500x500.png","belowTheFold":true,"youtube_url":null,"show_links":null,"feed_url":null}\\\"></div><p>Writing, videos, delegation, and temporary task forces are a few ways I handle communication at scale. In an upcoming Note, we\u2019ll dig into a full list of the tools to lead at scale.</p></li><li><p><strong>Your level difference is a higher risk:</strong> Senior Staff Engineer has no authority over Staff Engineers or Senior Engineers. In <a href=\\\"https://blog.alexewerlof.com/p/senior-engineer-to-staff-engineer\\\">Senior Engineer to Staff Engineer</a> I mentioned that the level difference can cause confusion and jealousy. That risk is even higher for Senior Staff Engineer because now you have other leaders (Staff Engineers) below you. Leadership skills are powerful, yet hard to measure. My advice is the same: this higher level does not have higher authority, but higher responsibility and requires servantry. Your impact depends even more on the other engineers who are closer to code. You need to be service-minded and put the interests of the other engineers and the product ahead of yourself. Being transparent about your extra responsibilities can help diffuse jealousy and misunderstanding to some extent.</p></li><li><p><strong>You\u2019re closer to \u201Cbusiness\u201D.</strong> You will be closer to how the money is made and are expected to fit the technical solutions to business problems. You get used to reading <a href=\\\"https://lethain.com/profit-and-loss-statement/\\\">the numbers</a> and interpreting it to technical improvements. <a href=\\\"https://blog.alexewerlof.com/p/why-bother-with-sli-and-slo\\\">Service levels</a> are powerful tools to connect operational data to business insights. This is my current engagement.</p></li></ul><p>That\u2019s a lot, but that\u2019s not all. As you can see, there\u2019s a theme here: if Staff Engineering is about technical leadership, Senior Staff Engineering is about scaling that skill over a larger org, longer time horizon, and wider technical portfolio.</p><p class=\\\"button-wrapper\\\" data-attrs=\\\"{"url":"https://blog.alexewerlof.com/subscribe?","text":"Subscribe now","action":null,"class":null}\\\" data-component-name=\\\"ButtonCreateButton\\\"><a class=\\\"button primary\\\" href=\\\"https://blog.alexewerlof.com/subscribe?\\\"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><h1>Examples</h1><p>Let\u2019s dive into some examples from my own career.</p><p>I was responsible for migrating the infrastructure behind the face of <a href=\\\"https://www.discoveryplus.com/\\\">Discovery Plus</a> a few years ago. The stakes were high, and many things could go wrong.</p><p>That program required tight collaboration across 5 teams (old infra, new infra, frontend, edge, QA). I was fortunate to work with a seasoned <a href=\\\"https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabormundruczo/\\\">TPM</a>. Together, we managed to pull this off in 6 months. That\u2019s the kind of initiative that Staff Engineers should be able to drive multiple teams, in a few months.</p><p>As a Senior Staff Engineer, I have been involved in completely diverse types of initiatives that span anywhere from non-technical (launching our <a href=\\\"https://medium.com/volvo-cars-engineering\\\">engineering blog</a>), to semi-technical (writing <a href=\\\"https://blog.alexewerlof.com/p/strategy-basics\\\">strategy</a>), to very technical (rolling out <a href=\\\"https://blog.alexewerlof.com/p/why-bother-with-sli-and-slo\\\">service levels</a> across a large organization).</p><p>I\u2019ve mentored enormous potential, sponsored staff-level initiatives for senior engineers, and helped shape our recruitment process and career ladder. A substantial portion of my time goes to synchronizing across the org, yet I must find time to work closely with the engineers who do the main chunk of the work.</p><p>However, the size of the organization (1600 people) is so large that I cannot afford to visit everyone in every hub on a regular basis. Writing and creating videos have helped to scale myself across to scale my initiatives.</p><p>Objectively, I spend less time coding than coaching.</p><p>My role enjoys more visibility, but it comes with heavier responsibilities.</p><p>And the definition of a good day? I have none! Most of my tasks are long running across a quarter or year:</p><ul><li><p>A good quarter is when we are on track executing a strategy and the engineers I serve have grown in their skills, careers, and passion.</p></li><li><p>A good year is when we have increased efficiency and effectiveness solving business problems.</p></li></ul><p>Yeah, it sounds fluffy. But there\u2019s no better way to sum up the wide range of challenges and impact at the high level.</p><p>The definition of fun changed. When I was a senior engineer, I loved working only with computers: they're logical, quick, accurate and predictable. Humans are emotional, slow, inaccurate, and have their own agenda.<br><br>Now I enjoy connecting a large number of people and computers.</p><p>The learning curve has been steep (like when I was learning React) but it's more rewarding because as it turns out most engineers either don't <em>want</em> this career path or don't <em>know</em> where to start.</p><p>The <a href=\\\"https://blog.alexewerlof.com/s/tech-lead\\\">tech lead section of my newsletter</a> is primarily targeting the latter.</p><h1>The [updated] model</h1><p>I hope by this point, it is obvious that my initial mental model was wrong. Unless you have superhuman abilities (I don\u2019t) or crazy IQ (I don\u2019t), it\u2019s not a realistic expectation to be deep in all technologies across a larger organization.</p><p>There needs to be a trade-off. The sweet spot varies depending on the needs of the business at different times.</p><p>20 months into the job, this is how I see the difference between the role of Senior Staff Engineer in relation to the Staff Engineer:</p><div class=\\\"captioned-image-container\\\"><figure><a class=\\\"image-link image2 is-viewable-img\\\" target=\\\"_blank\\\" href=\\\"https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!el1v!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0a2e89d9-ae6f-4244-9e5a-1e9ba965e6da_692x569.png\\\" data-component-name=\\\"Image2ToDOM\\\"><div class=\\\"image2-inset\\\"><picture><source type=\\\"image/webp\\\" srcset=\\\"https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!el1v!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0a2e89d9-ae6f-4244-9e5a-1e9ba965e6da_692x569.png 424w, 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Some become deeper in a few key technical areas while others cover a larger organizational surface. The \u201Csenior\u201D in the title does not mean more years of experience. After all, \u201Cyear\u201D is <a href=\\\"https://blog.alexewerlof.com/p/on-years-as-a-unit-of-measurement\\\">fundamentally the wrong unit</a> of measurement for experience.</p><p>The \u201Csenior\u201D part carries more expectations, larger scope, and longer time horizon. This requires a different toolbox to deliver higher impact, and at scale.</p><p>I already talked about writing and videos. In a future article I will share my notes about all the tools I\u2019ve picked up along the way to deliver impact across a larger organization without being burned out.</p><h1>Conclusion</h1><p>There are a lot of similarities between Staff Engineer and Senior Staff Engineer. The differences boil down to the size of the organization, technical depth, and time horizon to drive impact.</p><p>If you are looking to grow your career beyond the Staff Engineer level, you may need to focus on scaling your current toolset and picking up new methods to increase your reach and useful bandwidth.</p><p>\uD83D\uDFE2If you are curious, have a growth mindset, and are flexible, you\u2019ve got this.</p><p>\uD83D\uDFE0If you take this role for the prestige or pay, you\u2019re in for a tough ride</p><p>\uD83D\uDD34If your goal is to move away from code, please stop! I have an upcoming article about Ivory Tower Staff Engineers and the damage they can inflict on a scale!</p><div class=\\\"captioned-button-wrap\\\" data-attrs=\\\"{"url":"https://blog.alexewerlof.com/p/beyond-staff-engineer?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share","text":"Share"}\\\" data-component-name=\\\"CaptionedButtonToDOM\\\"><div class=\\\"preamble\\\"><p class=\\\"cta-caption\\\">If you find this article insightful, please share it within your circles to inspire your friends and colleagues. Thank you! \uD83D\uDC9B</p></div><p class=\\\"button-wrapper\\\" data-attrs=\\\"{"url":"https://blog.alexewerlof.com/p/beyond-staff-engineer?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share","text":"Share"}\\\" data-component-name=\\\"ButtonCreateButton\\\"><a class=\\\"button primary\\\" href=\\\"https://blog.alexewerlof.com/p/beyond-staff-engineer?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share\\\"><span>Share</span></a></p></div><div class=\\\"digest-post-embed\\\" data-attrs=\\\"{"nodeId":"5f06ca7b-310a-44d0-930d-707210b85edb","caption":"Years ago, I & Gabbon were interviewing a candidate for an EM (engineering management) position. By that point I had carried out dozens of technical leadership interviews for Staff Engineer and EM positions but this one was noteworthy. 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