Staff+ Engineering: New Skills, New Challenges

If you want to stay on the technical track, what changes can you expect as you get more senior?

Your technical skills are still important, but there's a whole set of new skills you need when you are leading large projects and setting the technical direction for your organization, and a new set of challenges.

This track will talk about what it takes to be an effective and successful Staff+ Engineer. If you're wondering how to take this track or even what these types of roles involve, come and hear practical advice from people with experience of high level individual contributor roles.


From this track

Session

The Decision Buy-In Algorithm

Tuesday Jun 13 / 10:35AM EDT

Making large, important technical decisions is a critical aspect of a senior individual contributor's role. With the wide impact these decisions can have, it is essential to make the correct decision.

Speaker image - John Riviello
John Riviello

Engineering Fellow @Comcast and @Google Developer Expert

Session Staff Plus Engineering

Growing Others to Grow Yourself

Tuesday Jun 13 / 11:50AM EDT

The best way to grow in your career is to help others grow as well. This is true when you are going from engineer to senior engineer, or if you are a senior engineer growing into a principal or tech lead.

Speaker image - Audrey Troutt
Audrey Troutt

CTO @Tomo

Session

Unconference: Staff+ Engineering

Tuesday Jun 13 / 01:40PM EDT

What is an unconference? An unconference is a participant-driven meeting. Attendees come together, bringing their challenges and relying on the experience and know-how of their peers for solutions.

Speaker image - Ben Linders
Ben Linders

Independent Consultant in Agile, Lean, Quality and Continuous Improvement

Session Staff Plus Engineering

The Creative Act: How Staff+ Is More Art Than Science

Tuesday Jun 13 / 02:55PM EDT

Achieving a Staff+ role is a huge achievement and something many engineers seek as the next step in their career growth. All Staff+ roles are not the same and exactly what your role entails can sometimes be a bit murky, to say the least.

Speaker image - David Grizzanti
David Grizzanti

Principal Engineer @nytimes

Session Engineering

Making the Decision To Be an Individual Contributor or a People Leader

Tuesday Jun 13 / 04:10PM EDT

As software engineers advance in their careers, we are often faced with the choice between remaining an individual contributor or transitioning to a people leadership role. This decision can be challenging and complex, as both paths offer unique benefits and challenges.

Speaker image - Michael Winslow
Michael Winslow

Engineering Director @Amazon Music

Session

Panel: Staff+ Engineering - New Skills, New Challenges

Tuesday Jun 13 / 05:25PM EDT

As you progress in your career, your technical skills will still be important, but you will also need to develop new skills in leadership, communication, and strategic thinking. This panel will provide practical advice on how to succeed in this role.

Speaker image - Michael Winslow
Michael Winslow

Engineering Director @Amazon Music

Speaker image - David Grizzanti
David Grizzanti

Principal Engineer @nytimes

Speaker image - Audrey Troutt
Audrey Troutt

CTO @Tomo

Speaker image - Stacy Kirk
Stacy Kirk

Tech CEO/Founder, Quality-Driven Transformation Leader, Quality, Security, and Social Impact Advocate

Date

Tuesday Jun 13 / 10:30AM EDT

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Track Host

Leslie Chapman

Engineering Fellow @Comcast

Leslie Chapman is an Engineering Fellow at Comcast. She was one of the technical leads for the X1 platform, which serves over 35 million customers. Currently, Leslie leads a team that is building backend systems that drive consistent user experiences across Comcast's suite of video streaming products.

She is passionate about encouraging young women to enter the tech field and spends a lot of time volunteering with organizations that teach coding to young women.

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