What is a Director Role?
What’s the difference between being a Director of Software Engineering and being a Software Engineering Team Leader? What should I expect as a Director compared to being a Development Leader?
These were the first two questions of someone I mentor when they were investigating a potential promotion opportunity. A Director of Software Engineering position opened up due to company growth and business need (yay). This person feels they are ready for their next step in their career for the right reasons but they didn’t know if being a Director was the right path for them or not. They wanted to know more about what it meant to be a Director of Software Engineering before they threw their hat in the ring. Before we dive in, here’s some context.
What’s this person’s career path been so far?
This person has been a Software Engineering Team Leader for several years. They were previously a Senior Software Engineer and they still write code as part of their team today. As a Team Leader of Engineering, this person is responsible for a two-pizza team, or eight or so people. They are responsible for their execution, the quality they produce, the speed and cadence at which they produce, but most importantly, they are responsible for the team’s culture, environment, and overall growth of the people on it.
