Mastodawn

The new 10x Engineer with AI

The idea of the “10x engineer” has always been a bit controversial. Some people see it as a myth. Some people see it as a harmful label that creates hero culture. Some people have worked with engineers who clearly create much more impact than others, and believe the idea is real. I sit somewhere in the middle. I don’t think a 10x engineer means someone who writes 10x more code than everyone else. That version of the idea was never useful to me. Writing more code is not the same as […]

https://codeaholicguy.com/2026/05/13/the-new-10x-engineer-with-ai/

estherderby 1d ago

A Staff Engineer who raises a concern in an architecture review that causes the team to change course–that’s leadership.

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QCon Software Conferences Jan 27

Perfect architecture means nothing if team dynamics don't support it. At QCon London 2026, Vanessa Formicola shares why Staff+ engineers must architect sociotechnical systems not just code.

🔗 https://bit.ly/4adXVLc

#QConLondon #StaffEngineer

रञ्जित (Ranjit Mathew)Jan 25

Pragmatic:

“How I Estimate Work As A Staff Software Engineer”, Sean Goedecke (https://www.seangoedecke.com/how-i-estimate-work/).

On HN: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46742389

On Lobsters: https://lobste.rs/s/dspppf/how_i_estimate_work_as_staff_software

#SoftwareEngineering #Planning #Estimation #StaffEngineer

How I estimate work as a staff software engineer

रञ्जित (Ranjit Mathew)Jan 16

Some hard truths here 👇🏽:

“Why Senior Engineers Let Bad Projects Fail”, Lalit Maganti (https://lalitm.com/post/why-senior-engineers-let-bad-projects-fail/).

Via Lobsters: https://lobste.rs/s/pddded/why_senior_engineers_let_bad_projects

On HN: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46640366

#Work #Influence #SeniorEngineer #StaffEngineer #InfluenceWithoutAuthority

Why Senior Engineers Let Bad Projects Fail

When I was a junior engineer, my manager would occasionally confide his frustrations to me in our weekly 1:1s. He would point out a project another team was working on and say, “I don’t believe that project will go anywhere, they’re solving the wrong problem.” I used to wonder, “But you are very senior, why don’t you just go and speak to them about your concerns?” It felt like a waste of his influence to not say anything. So it’s quite ironic that I found myself last week explaining to a mentee why I thought a sister team’s project would have to pivot because they’d made a poor early design choice. And he rightfully asked me the same question I had years ago: “why don’t you just tell them your opinion?” It’s been on my mind ever since because I realized I’d changed my stance on it a lot over the years.

Lalit Maganti

Brian Allbee Jan 11

(More thoughts prompted by thinking about my recently published book: https://www.packtpub.com/en-UA/product/hands-on-software-engineering-with-python-9781835888001)

At some point in most engineering careers, something subtle shifts.

Early on, the job is mostly about writing code: implement the ticket, follow the standards, make the tests pass. That work matters. But over time, especially as systems grow more complex, the center of gravity moves.
#Python #SoftwareEngineering #StaffEngineer #CareerGrowth #TechnicalLeadership

Hands-On Software Engineering with Python | Programming | Paperback

Move beyond basic programming to design, maintain, and deploy extensible Python systems. Top rated Programming products.

Packt

रञ्जित (Ranjit Mathew)Dec 6

👌🏽👇🏽:

“Why I Ignore The Spotlight As A Staff Engineer”, Lalit Maganti (https://lalitm.com/software-engineering-outside-the-spotlight/).

On HN: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46146451

On Lobsters: https://lobste.rs/s/xdjgbd/why_i_ignore_spotlight_as_staff_engineer

On Reddit: https://old.reddit.com/r/programming/comments/1pekdhi/why_i_ignore_the_spotlight_as_a_staff_engineer/

#StaffEngineer #Google #Career #Infrastructure

Why I Ignore The Spotlight as a Staff Engineer

An alternate path for Staff+ engineers that optimizes for systems over spotlights and stewardship over fungibility.

Lalit Maganti

lmorchard's links Dec 5

Why I Ignore The Spotlight as a Staff Engineer - Lalit Maganti

"The tech industry loves to tell you to move fast. But there is another path. It is a path where leverage comes from depth, patience, and the quiet satisfaction of building the foundation that others stand on.

You don’t have to chase the spotlight to have a meaningful, high-impact career at a big company. Sometimes, the most ambitious thing you can do is stay put, dig in, and build something that lasts."

https://lalitm.com/software-engineering-outside-the-spotlight/

#career #staff #staffengineer #work

Why I Ignore The Spotlight as a Staff Engineer

An alternate path for Staff+ engineers that optimizes for systems over spotlights and stewardship over fungibility.

Lalit Maganti