Top Engineering Leadership books recommended by experts

At MentorCruise, we are all about making the most out of the experience of others. As part of that, we've connected and asked dozens of experts and professionals about their favourite Engineering Leadership books – and here are the answers.

Table of Contents

Fundamentals of Engineering Leadership

Understanding the concepts of Engineering Leadership starts with understanding the fundamentals. On your way to mastery, it's crucial for you to understand how certain concepts were derived, and why things work like they do. Starting with these resources is the best way to do so.

Job Shop Lean: An Industrial Engineering Approach to Implementing Lean in High-Mix Low-Volume Production Systems

In the 1950’s, the design and implementation of the Toyota Production System (TPS) within Toyota had begun. In the 1960’s, Group Technology (GT) and Cellular Manufacturing (CM) were used by Serck Audco Valves, a high-mix low-volume (HMLV) manufacturer in the United Kingdom, to guide enterprise-wide transformation. In 1996, the publication of the book Lean Thinking introduced the entire world t…

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The Five Dysfunctions of a Team

After her first two weeks observing the problems at DecisionTech, Kathryn Petersen, its new CEO, had more than a few moments when she wondered if she should have taken the job. But Kathryn knew there was little chance she would have turned it down. After all, retirement had made her antsy, and nothing excited her more than a challenge. What she could not have known when she accepted the job, h…

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Foundational Leadership Lessons: Navigating Challenges and Achieving Success in the Corporate World and Beyond

Unlock the secrets to successful leadership with Foundational Leadership Lessons—a comprehensive guide crafted by Jordan Sterling, a seasoned executive who rose from humble beginnings on a rural farm to the C-suite of multi-billion-dollar global companies. Whether you’re just starting your career or are an experienced leader looking to refine your skills, this book offers invaluable insights d…

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High output management

The essential skill of creating and maintaining new businesses—the art of the entrepreneur—can be summed up in a single word: managing. Born of Grove’s experiences at one of America’s leading technology companies (as CEO and employee number three at Intel), High Output Management is equally appropriate for sales managers, accountants, consultants, and teachers, as well as CEOs and startup foun…

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An Elegant Puzzle: Systems of Engineering Management

There’s a saying that people don’t leave companies, they leave managers. Management is a key part of any organization, yet the discipline is often self-taught and unstructured. Getting to the good solutions for complex management challenges can make the difference between fulfillment and frustration for teams—and, ultimately, between the success and failure of companies.

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The Manager's Path: A Guide for Tech Leaders Navigating Growth and Change

From mentoring interns to working with senior staff, you’ll get actionable advice for approaching various obstacles in your path. This book is ideal whether you’re a new manager, a mentor, or a more experienced leader looking for fresh advice. Pick up this book and learn how to become a better manager and leader in your organization.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

Additional Engineering Leadership Reading

These books are not required for you to learn Engineering Leadership, but they are highly recommended for you to deepen your knowledge.

Staff Engineer: Leadership beyond the management track

At most technology companies, you'll reach Senior software engineer, the career level for software engineers, in five to eight years. At the career level, your company's career ladder won't require that you work towards the next promotion; being promoted further is an exception rather than expected. This is also when many engineers are first given an opportunity to move into engineering manage…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

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After 18+ years in video games (Relic Entertainment, DeNA, Gasket Games), e-commerce, and fintech, I’ve noticed that software engineers don’t get enough mentorship and guidance. We often go it alone or have managers who are excellent at building software but struggle with leading people. Over time, I saw that mentoring …

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I am a seasoned Front End Software Engineer with over 10 years of experience at various tech companies, currently based in Toronto, Canada. I am currently working at Square and was previously at Coinbase, Taplytics. I have previously mentored at Lighthouse Labs: Canada's Leading Coding Bootcamp. I have professional, hands-on …

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Hi, I'm Andrei! 👋 With 17 years in software development and over 8 years in leadership roles, I help tech professionals grow—from team members to managers and senior executives. As a Technical Director at Globant, I am leading the Health and Lifesciences portfolio with over 160 engineers delivering projects for …

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I'm an engineering leadership mentor with over a decade of experience helping software engineers and managers excel. I've built teams from scratch, coached engineers, created career growth plans leading to successful promotions, mentored numerous engineers, defined technical strategies, and envisioned, staffed, and spun off new teams. My mentorship provides practical …

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Vikas is an accomplished engineering leader with 20+ years of experience, he has a proven track record of success in multiple leadership roles across startups and large organizations (Facebook, Amazon, Mastercard). Throughout his career, Vikas developed a deep understanding of the technical aspects of engineering, coupled with strong business acumen …

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My expertise is architecting large-scale, fault-tolerant distributed systems, leading teams (~20 people), and entrepreneurship in B2B SaaS (FinTech). - Head of architecture at Truewind.ai (YCW23) (FinTech). Joined as 1st engineer hire and grew the company from seed to series A. - Co-founded TAOS.ai (FinTech) in 2022 as the CTO. Raised …

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  • "Naz is an amazing person and a wonderful mentor. She is supportive and knowledgeable with extensive practical experience. Having been a manager at Netflix, she also knows a ton about working with teams at scale. Highly recommended."

  • "Brandon has been supporting me with a software engineering job hunt and has provided amazing value with his industry knowledge, tips unique to my situation and support as I prepared for my interviews and applications."

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