Engineering Management

Engineering management bridges technical execution and business outcomes while supporting team growth.

Key Responsibilities

People Management

• Career development
• Performance reviews
• 1-on-1 meetings
• Conflict resolution
• Hiring and onboarding

Technical Leadership

• Architecture decisions
• Code quality standards
• Technical debt management
• Technology choices

Project Management

• Sprint planning
• Resource allocation
• Deadline management
• Stakeholder communication

Leadership Styles

Servant Leadership

Focus on serving the team's needs and removing blockers.

Situational Leadership

Adapt style based on team member's experience and situation.

Transformational Leadership

Inspire and motivate through vision and empowerment.

1-on-1 Meetings

Structure

Weekly 30-minute meetings:
1. Personal check-in (5 min)
2. Current work discussion (10 min)
3. Blockers and support (10 min)
4. Career growth (5 min)

Questions to Ask

• What's going well?
• What challenges are you facing?
• What do you need from me?
• What are you learning?
• How can I support your growth?

Performance Management

Goal Setting (OKRs)

Objective: Improve system reliability

Key Results:
- Reduce incident response time by 50%
- Achieve 99.9% uptime
- Deploy monitoring for all critical services

Feedback Framework

SBI Model: Situation, Behavior, Impact

"In yesterday's code review (Situation),
you provided detailed explanations for your suggestions (Behavior),
which helped the junior developer learn new patterns (Impact)."

Performance Reviews

• Regular (quarterly/bi-annual)
• Evidence-based
• Two-way conversation
• Clear action items
• Career development focus

Team Building

Team Dynamics

• Understand team member strengths
• Foster collaboration
• Encourage knowledge sharing
• Build psychological safety

Conflict Resolution

1. Listen to all parties
2. Understand root causes
3. Focus on solutions
4. Follow up on outcomes

Technical Decision Making

Decision Framework

• Gather input from team
• Consider trade-offs
• Document decisions (ADRs)
• Communicate clearly
• Be willing to revise

Delegation

• Match tasks to skill levels
• Provide context and autonomy
• Trust your team
• Be available for support
• Follow up appropriately

Hiring

Interview Process

1. Resume screening
2. Technical assessment
3. System design (for senior roles)
4. Behavioral interviews
5. Team fit evaluation

Qualities to Look For

• Problem-solving skills
• Communication abilities
• Cultural fit
• Growth mindset
• Collaboration skills

Metrics That Matter

Team Health

• Velocity trends
• Cycle time
• Deployment frequency
• Change failure rate

Individual Growth

• Skills acquired
• Impact on projects
• Collaboration quality
• Initiative taken

Common Challenges

Balancing Technical & Management Work

• Time-box technical contributions
• Focus on high-leverage technical work
• Trust team with implementation

Managing Up

• Regular updates to leadership
• Translate technical to business value
• Manage expectations
• Advocate for team needs

Scaling Yourself

• Delegate effectively
• Build self-sufficient teams
• Create documentation
• Develop other leaders

Anti-Patterns to Avoid

• Micromanaging
• Taking credit for team's work
• Avoiding difficult conversations
• Favoring some team members
• Making all technical decisions
• Ignoring team feedback

Growth as a Manager

Continuous Learning

• Read management books
• Attend leadership training
• Seek mentorship
• Learn from peers
• Reflect on experiences

Self-Care

• Set boundaries
• Maintain work-life balance
• Process stress healthily
• Build support network
• Take time off

Resources

Books

• "The Manager's Path" by Camille Fournier
• "Radical Candor" by Kim Scott
• "High Output Management" by Andy Grove
• "An Elegant Puzzle" by Will Larson

Practices

• Regular skip-level meetings
• Team retrospectives
• All-hands meetings
• Office hours