Engineering Manager

Table of contents

  1. Overview
  2. Job Description
    1. Key Characteristics
    2. Core Responsibilities
      1. People Management
      2. Technical Leadership
      3. Strategic Contribution
    3. Success Metrics
      1. Team Performance
      2. Strategic Impact
  3. Common Challenges & Solutions
    1. Scaling Management Practices
    2. Reduced Technical Involvement
    3. Cross-team Coordination
  4. Development Focus Areas
    1. Must Develop
    2. Should Develop
    3. Growth Path
  5. Related Resources
    1. Core Competencies
    2. Previous/Next Levels

Overview

The Engineering Manager has developed confidence in core management skills and handles larger teams with more complex challenges. They balance reduced technical involvement with increased people and strategic responsibilities.

Job Description

Key Characteristics

  • Experience: 2-4 years of management experience
  • Team Size: 5-8 direct reports
  • Scope: Multiple teams or complex product areas
  • Technical Involvement: 10-20% hands-on coding
  • Focus: Scaling management practices and cross-team coordination

Core Responsibilities

People Management

  • Manage larger, more diverse teams effectively
  • Handle complex performance and career development discussions
  • Lead hiring and team building initiatives
  • Develop other potential leaders within the team
  • Navigate team conflicts and organizational challenges

Technical Leadership

  • Guide technical decisions across multiple teams
  • Participate in architectural planning and technology choices
  • Ensure technical standards across broader scope
  • Balance technical debt with feature development at scale
  • Mentor other engineers in technical leadership

Strategic Contribution

  • Contribute to engineering roadmap and planning
  • Collaborate effectively with senior stakeholders
  • Drive process improvements across teams
  • Participate in resource planning and capacity management
  • Represent engineering in cross-functional initiatives

Success Metrics

Team Performance

  • Multi-team Coordination: Successful delivery across coordinated teams
  • Quality at Scale: Maintaining quality standards across larger scope
  • Process Efficiency: Improved team processes and productivity

Strategic Impact

  • Cross-functional Success: Strong partnerships with Product, Design, and other teams
  • Process Innovation: Implementing and scaling effective practices
  • Organizational Influence: Growing influence on engineering decisions

Common Challenges & Solutions

Scaling Management Practices

  • Challenge: Managing larger teams while maintaining quality relationships
  • Approach: Develop systematic approaches, delegate effectively, focus on high-impact activities

Reduced Technical Involvement

  • Challenge: Staying technically relevant with less hands-on time
  • Approach: Strategic technical involvement, architecture reviews, mentoring others

Cross-team Coordination

  • Challenge: Managing dependencies and alignment across multiple teams
  • Approach: Strong communication systems, clear interfaces, proactive conflict resolution

Development Focus Areas

Must Develop

  • Advanced people management and team dynamics
  • Cross-functional stakeholder management
  • Strategic thinking and planning
  • Organizational influence and change management

Should Develop

  • Executive communication skills
  • Technical vision and architecture planning
  • Process design and optimization
  • Mentoring other managers

Growth Path

Engineering Managers typically spend 2-4 years at this level, preparing for senior roles by:

  • Successfully managing complex, multi-team initiatives
  • Developing strong cross-functional relationships
  • Contributing to organizational strategy and planning
  • Mentoring other managers and developing leadership pipeline

Core Competencies

Previous/Next Levels