The Engineering Manager trek
The IC-to-manager transition, 1:1s, hiring, performance management, project execution, and the leadership skills that make engineering teams exceptional.
The IC → manager transition
The first-time manager transition is the hardest career change. Understand what changes, what you lose, and what you gain.
1:1s & feedback
The most powerful tool a manager has: the 1:1. Making them useful, giving feedback that changes behavior, and building real relationships.
Hiring & building teams
Recruiting, interview design, hiring decisions, and onboarding — the most leveraged thing a manager does.
Project planning & execution
Planning projects, managing timelines, communicating progress to stakeholders, and delivering software on time.
Engineering metrics & OKRs
DORA metrics, team health metrics, OKRs for engineering teams, and measuring what actually matters.
Technical leadership
Setting technical direction, making architecture decisions, managing technical debt, and being a technical presence without doing the work yourself.
Performance management
Setting expectations, performance reviews, managing underperformers, and the rare but important conversations about letting someone go.
Team health & psychological safety
Building a team culture where people do their best work: safety, inclusion, reducing toil, and preventing burnout.
Cross-functional collaboration
Working with product, design, data, and business stakeholders — building alignment across functions without losing engineering autonomy.
Engineering strategy & org design
Defining engineering strategy, organizational design, growing teams, and the decisions that shape teams for years.
Manager development & career
Developing your direct reports' careers, building a pipeline of senior engineers, and planning your own growth as a manager.
Capstone — build a high-performing team
Apply everything: build, develop, and deliver with a real or simulated engineering team over a 3-month period.
Trek complete. What's next?
You've walked the full roadmap. Now ship the capstone, write about it, and share the path with the next engineer who needs it.