Engineering-Management on {IT}

A pint with Jimothy: on fear, ego, and hiring smarter

Thu, 12 Jun 2025 14:27:01 +0000

☕️ We started with coffee, like most chats do. Black for me, cappuccino for Jimothy (he actually prefers Jim, or James). Corner terrace, Singelgracht. One of those confusing Amsterdam afternoons where the sky can’t decide – sunlight breaks through the clouds, then ducks back behind them. Just long enough to let a few leaves blow across the wet stone.

Jim’s good at what he does. Senior technical manager at a mid-sized SaaS company. Knows the systems, understands the roadmap, has decent rapport with his engineers. But somewhere between the first sip and the second, he leans in and says quietly:

When Slack starts to feel like a DDoS attack

Wed, 07 May 2025 16:53:49 +0000

In software engineering, we often rely on “exponential back-off” when retrying failed network requests – a technique where each subsequent attempt is spaced out further in time to avoid overloading the system. Oddly enough, I’ve found myself applying a similar concept to human communication.

As an Engineering lead, I’m frequently on the receiving end of an unrelenting stream of requests:

A Slack ping about a pressing issue
A pull request to review
A CV from a recruiter
Another CV for a completely different role
A message from customer support about an urgent user complaint
An escalation from the Security team
A calendar invite
A last-moment meeting reschedule
A quick question (this one’s my favorite)

All of this happens while I’m trying to carve out focused time to work on broader goals: improving team processes, ensuring teams have clear direction, and writing progress reports or strategic documentation. Even with AI-assisted tools, writing takes time – because effective communication requires tailoring the message to its audience. Tone matters. Clarity matters. Accuracy matters.

AI for Engineering managers: adapt now or trail behind

Sat, 19 Apr 2025 15:43:11 +0000

Remember when a five‑digit Stack Overflow score was a flex?

Today that, and a vintage 2022 playbook will buy you precisely zero leverage.

Yesterday’s job, tomorrow’s irrelevance

Many Engineering managers still run on three rituals:

Status ✨astrology✨ or endless forecasting of ticket constellations. Hours massaging burndown charts, Jira dashboards, stand‑up forecasts – cargo‑cult evidence that the sprint is “on track”.
Stakeholder ~~appeasement~~ management: slide decks, project reviews, “quick syncs” to keep exec egos fed and legal teams comfy.
People babysitting – counting story points, asking to update Jira, tolerance checks for burnout, sniffing out AI-powered overemployment. By the way, did you know of r/overemployed?

However, none of those moves the product faster. Meanwhile, AI agents are quietly doing code reviews, generating boilerplate, even writing RFCs. The org chart hasn’t noticed – yet.

The unboring NIST SP 800-190

Tue, 18 Mar 2025 05:14:00 +0000

When most of us hear “NIST guidelines”, our first reaction might be “another boring PDF I’ll never open again”.

My first encounter with NIST Special Publication 800-190 happened when I was studying for the GIAC GCSA exam, which is focused on DevSecOps and container security. The SP 800-190 is refreshingly different. It isn’t just another checkbox compliance document – it genuinely provides practical, actionable steps to enhance container security posture.

Before you lead: honest questions for aspiring managers

Mon, 13 Jan 2025 04:33:00 +0000

So you’ve spent years honing your craft as an individual contributor (IC), and now you’re considering a transition to a leadership position. The appeal is obvious: greater influence, more responsibility, and a unique chance to shape your organization’s trajectory. However, stepping into a lead role comes with challenges that aren’t always highlighted in the job description.

One of the most significant hurdles is the shift in mindset that this move demands. Instead of focusing your energy on perfecting technical solutions or improving your own output, you’ll need to foster team dynamics, resolve interpersonal issues, and guide others to success.

Managing time as an Engineering manager

Tue, 24 Dec 2024 05:14:00 +0000

Every Engineering manager knows the feeling: you wake up already juggling a thousand thoughts, your calendar is a battlefield, and Slack notifications seem endless. It’s a chaotic yet rewarding role, one where the pressure to deliver is only rivaled by the satisfaction of seeing your team succeed.

In 2024, my days as an Engineering manager (EM) were a constant balancing act. I want to share what those days looked like, the challenges I faced, and how I’ve since discovered a helpful framework for managing time better in Aviv Ben-Yosef’s “The Tech Executive Operating System” book.

Planning with confidence: high-level estimates in software projects

Sun, 27 Aug 2023 16:55:26 +0000

It is not always easy or pleasant to talk about estimates. On the one hand, it’s a fun activity of trying to look far enough into the future. On the other hand, high-level estimates are often taken as a commitment. It gets shared with the bigger org, the sales organization (read customers), and ultimately with the company leadership.

High-level estimates in software engineering are preliminary projections of the time, effort, and resources required to complete a software project. These estimates provide a broad overview during the initial planning phase and help stakeholders understand the general scope and feasibility of the project before delving into detailed planning, commitments to customers, and execution. High-level estimates also guide decision-making and resource allocation, setting the foundation for the project’s direction and expectations.

The engineering manager role explained

Mon, 26 Sep 2022 22:20:54 +0000

Explaining the engineering manager role is not a new subject. Nevertheless, the EM function is often defined differently depending on the company, its size, and even the market it operates. In this post, I offer my version of it, in an attempt to provide a new, valuable perspective.

Fun fact: this is the first piece on this blog featuring hand-drawn graphics ✏️

Who will find it useful

The information in this blog post will be helpful to people who collaborate with Engineering managers at work, willing to learn more about the role. For example, software engineering and recruitment professionals, SaaS sales experts, and individuals interested in becoming an EM.