What I wish I knew when I was a junior developer that I would tell as a staff software engineer
summary
Panelists trace concrete moves that elevate an engineer: built Twitter Spaces from Periscope infra, delivered the initial Android version almost solo then scaled to 10 engineers, and learned to stop hoarding features. Staff work requires running cross‑team roadmaps, owning product discovery, and mentoring while attending many meetings. Real pitfalls include missed delegation and a GDPR rollout that stopped metrics (drops below 30%), which led to more integration tests. Advice centers on mission‑fit, picking a consistent team, an entrepreneur mindset inside big companies, and shipping measurable outcomes.
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chapters (6)
- 0:00Introduction and motivation
- 11:00Panelists' career stories
- 15:57Key traits for staff engineers
- 23:00Biggest mistakes and lessons
- 28:04Being a role model
- 33:05Advice to past selves
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