Staff Engineer: Leadership beyond the management track

As someone who has been working as a Staff Engineer for several years, this book answered several important questions I had about my role and expectations. Moreover, it clarified things that I've observed (about operating at Staff level), that I didn't understand until now. I wish I have read this book sooner, earlier in my career. FYI, I have both the print and Audible versions. This is not a book about engineering management, and it is not about coding or project management. If that's the mindset you are coming from, this book will disappoint. If you are interested in knowing what comes after a Senior engineering level (whether you are a senior or junior developer), and how to operate at that level and beyond, this is the book for you. There's a certain "filtering" that comes with this topic since engineering positions that come after Senior-levels only occur in mature companies that 1) are sufficiently large, 2) are product or service oriented (not limited to web/IT support to other businesses) and 3) are likely to have substantial IP and patents. I would still recommend this book even for engineers working at firms to do match these criteria, since it covers significant material on how to operate efficiently as a team lead.

One of the few books I have read that start to talk about the indeterministic role of Staff Software engineers. Not a silver bullet, but at least gives a few places to start your journey or at least smooth it out a little.

Great book for someone considering the path into staff engineer!

I’m sure you get this from a lot of readers. Please add my thanks to the long list and know it is very heartfelt. The collection of interviews were very diverse, and truly helped me see various ways the Staff Engineer role can be viewed in various places. I wish I had read them first perhaps I’d have spent less than 3 months completing the book. It was quite hard getting through the initial chapters. Suggestion: print as 2 different books and keep the interviews rolling in! I’m definitely recommending this!!

You should buy all of Will Larson's books if you're a software engineer or software engineering manager with hopes of growth and scaling yourself. Great pragmatic guide to the expectations, day to day work lives of Staff Developers and how to get there yourself. Love the interviews with Staff Devs especially, as they're ripe for picking examples, behaviors and tools from!

This book get's a lot of praise, but I'm not seeing why its rated so high. I've spoken to many Staff+ level engineers (at various companies, FAANG companies included) who feel this same way about this book. Having read it nearly 3 times now, I have come to the conclusion that this book is merely a collection of archetypes that define what a staff engineer might be and might do. The prescriptions to become a staff engineer, while useful, are not applicable to various staff positions and/or companies. They're merely examples of what you can do to attain the level of staff, but all specific to whatever use case might have gotten someone staff by doing such a thing. The reality of the Staff Engineer role is this: It's a relatively new role in the industry. It's in its infancy. Every companies Staff Engineer does something differently than another company. There are many paths to becoming a staff engineer. Staff Engineer at company A is completely different at Company B. I mean vastly different. Ultimately this book will help you understand the various roles a staff engineer can have and what they might do. In my personal experience you'll find that staff engineers often wear multiple hats across an organization and fit within many different archetypes throughout the year/month or even week and day. Some may say thats an organizational and company culture problem, and I agree, but thats where this role is - it's new, uncharted territory and applying the Staff label (and above) is merely what happens after Senior engineer, if you decide you want to stay on the technical track. I found myself struggling to finish this book each time I read it because at times it seemed on topic, then other times it would dive into another topic completely unrelated. It felt discombobulated at times. Lastly, the interviews/stories at the end with various Staff engineers felt like filler/fluff for the book in my opinion. They offer some insight into the Staff role, but were particular to each persons experience, which goes to show this role is in fact early in its development. Overall this book is a good generalization on what a Staff Engineer could be, but thats about it.

As an staff engineer myself, having an external perspective of what does the role entitles in other organizations has been tremendously valuable. Some of the guides or initial chapters are very practical but I have thoroughly enjoyed reading the experiences of some of my colleagues in other companies. Highly recommended to anyone looking beginning a staff engineer or to someone that wants to check areas of personal growth

very comprehensive, well researched book that has guided a generation of senior and staff engineer. as a senior manager, it guides me how to approach and manage my senior IC better

Transitioning into a new role, and this book was quite helpful for understanding how to navigate the workplace. It has a lot of good points as to how to be effective leader and how to manage your time. Definitely a must read.

It’s great to have a read and get to know the insights from other engineers from different companies. Good points and interesting topics covered in this book.

This book reads very easily, and was very engaging. It's not necessarily full of practical tools, but it is very good at helping challenge your perspective on how you see yourself within the context of your position. Recommended for anyone in, or considering this job role. Also has a section useful for those managing staff engineers.

Beaucoup de supports expliquent la bascule vers un métier de manager mais très peu le chemin du leadership qui est parfaitement décrit dans ce livre !

Define o que é um especialista de verdade e ainda fala de arquétipos percebidos nos Staffs Plus Engineers. Embora seja adpatado a realidade internacional, vale a leitura.