Our Career Paths in Engineering
There are two lanes that intersect: implementation and management.
You’d think it makes sense that a software house offers and sustains various levels in engineering as a career, but you’d be surprised to know that it’s rather difficult to map and it’s usually up to you to navigate the lanes.
There’s also the question of when.
Factoring in this additional variable makes the job at hand even harder, probably leaving you with a lot of guesswork to start with.
Well, we really believe in coaching and guidance.
So, we thought it be important we provide some context for anyone interested in reaching out to us and joining our company. Or maybe just helping you out in general in your journey of self-awareness, regardless of whether you’re interested in our wackiness.
Here’s a quick glimpse of the entire thing:
1/2 — Implementation
1/3 — Associate Software Engineer
In essence, a junior-level developer.
We use the term “associate” to factor in the various levels that we associate (pawn intended) into a single one. Entry, junior and/or someone getting started on the path to mid-level seniority.
An associate focuses heavily on learning how it works and in most cases you will work on quite a few things from back-end to front-end, to help you build up a general awareness of everything.
Sometimes, with the heavy coaching entailed — including soft skills — it might feel as though you’re just stumbling with no direction.
That’s OK.
You’re here to sharpen your pencil by helping the rest of the folks below, who you’ll be working with directly in your day-to-day.
Oh, you must be at the minimum acquainted with Google search.
2/3 — Software Engineer
In essence, a mid-level developer.
Additionally to what we described for the associates, software engineers are also tasked with commenting on specs, taking part in backlog management and being involved in technology decisions.
An extra thing is guiding and delegating to associates.
Usually, this is where you start finding out about your likes and dislikes and where a sense of “specialisation” starts to occur. You may be involved across multiple disciplines, but your main area of focus and effort start shifting towards your preference.
Here’s a basic picture of these preference lanes:
- Front-end, the back-end oriented
You love the front-end part of software, but you’re more interested in things other than the design. Routing, data and error handling, library optimisation and business rules (workflows), to name a few. - Front-end, the design oriented
The other side of the front-end coin. Animations, user experience, loading effects, responsive design, to name some. - Back-end, the software oriented
Just like our first front-end, but on the server-side. - Back-end, the infrastructure oriented
Ah, this goes down the rabbit hole, affecting the hardware itself. Your passion lies in the code behind the code.
Those are a general rule of thumb, not an absolute fact.
And of course, you’re able to navigate yourself across any problem whatsoever, with you and Google search finally being best pals.
3/3 — Lead Software Engineer
In essence, a senior-level developer.
On top of the above, you can now make decisions that impact everything, are able to communicate any information to management, solve any problem whatsoever, are extremely accurate in estimations even for the rest of the team and directly enforce and supervise quality standards.
You’re also able to guide everyone in engineering, regardless of their discipline and/or technology stack.
Finally, you taking active part in technical decisions is now pivotal.
We do however include an additional challenge here, which is some business acumen on a certain degree. That means you’re aware, understand and can factor in variables outside the scope of coding and technical analysis, such as finances, scope and delivery context.
At some extend, with guidance, of course.
You’re still best pals with Google search, but it’s weird 100 times later.
2/2 — Management
We’ve got to make an important disclaimer here, before we break down the roles in engineering management.
First of, the whole thing is asynchronous.
That means, you can be an associate in implementation but can switch to being an associate in management.
As we said in the beginning, these lanes intertwine.
1/4 — Engineering Associate
In essence, an assistant to engineering management, in general.
This role is somewhat similar to an associate in implementation, that’s sharpening your pencil by helping out the other folks below, but without the coding parts. More often than not, your day-to-day will interject with roles from other functions (i.e. Delivery), and may seem similar in form.
We usually place folks in this role to help them start their greater path in the management roles described below.
2/4 — Associate Engineering Manager
In essence, an assistant to an Engineering Manager, specifically.
On top of sharpening your pencil in management, at some point you’ll be able to start accumulating ownership and responsibilities in a protected and guided format by your manager, instead of executing.
This is the point where we focus heavily on helping you practice a mix of technical and empathy-driven leadership, while also coaching you on business acumen based on technology.
Role is hard, y’all.
3/4 — Engineering Manager
In essence, an autonomous leader.
You’re now in charge of backlogs, assignments, decision making, coordination, technical analysis — the whole nine yards.
Your day-to-day will include working closely with cross-functional management, as well as coordinating directly with our Head of Engineering and/or Director of Services.
4/4 — Head of Engineering
In essence, the maestro.
Questions or feedback?
Feel free to reach out to George Kary, our Director of Services.
