Item — HN Reader

My observations:

DoE is actually a multi-functional role responsible for interfacing everything Engineering with Strategic Management, Marketing and Sales. As such Core Engineering competency is the necessity and without that everything else is useless. They must have in depth knowledge of the domain and the specific product line(s) and not mere "hand-wavy" overview. Too many DoEs err on the side of Management and not enough Engineering. Delegate appropriate responsibilities to Tech. Leads/Architects/Sr. Engineers but still be involved so that everything comes together as a organic whole. Shield Engineering from management/operational BS and politics. Have regular meetups with Product Teams and ALL individual engineers one-on-one (eg. brown bag lunches) so that you can assess motivation/morale and work on methods to maintain it at optimum level. Encourage "skunkworks" projects. Be generous in crediting individual engineers and not mere "team talk". While focusing on the company's product vision be also mindful of each engineer's aspirations and provide for opportunities for each of them to grow (eg. training in new technologies and management, 15% time on whatever side projects). Finally, always, always LISTEN to your Engineers on major tech. related decisions.

https://www.quora.com/What-qualities-and-skills-separate-an-...

1 comments

Thank you! The role I am interviewing for is also responsible for system architecture and design, not at the code level but at the level of services and components, sort of a Technical Director who is at the same time the Chief Architect (small company). Do you see this working or do you think it's too much of a scope?

Go for it!

In any new position, you will have to learn and grow into it and if the jump is gradual, all the better. Assuming that you have the engineering domain covered, you may only lack experience on the management side which will have to be worked on but that will be easier since it is a small company and hence will not be onerous. You can also request help (i.e. informal mentoring from peers/seniors) and later on grow your team to delegate some burden off of you if needed. Necessary commitment and hard-work will take you up the career ladder.

Finally, don't sell yourself short while also not losing sight of your limitations. Focus and sell on your strengths while simultaneously working on improving your weaknesses i.e. stretch yourself and don't always stay within your "comfort zone". Have a clear view of Expectations vs. Responsibilities and you can takeup any challenge.

Good Luck!

Thank you very much for your help and support.

I have been developing software since 2008/2009 and have been a technical team leader for 4 years now. This is definitely a big jump up the career ladder where I will be responsible for three different engineering teams. Sounds exciting.

I think the position isn't then of a Director of Engineering. This seems to be more of a technical role. Lead Architect or something. Director of Engineering implies that you manage teams, not directly people/architecture/code.

Well, the role is titled as Technical Director of Data Engineering. The DoE will be responsible for 3 different engineering teams with a headcount of 5-7 full-timers each team. What makes you think that this is not a DoE role?

A bit about myself, I have a total of 11 years of developing software, out of which I have been technically leading a team of 5 full-time engineers for 4 years now.

You didn't leave that clear on your post.