Your path to Senior Engineering Manager

Becoming a software engineer manager is the logical next step for many developers around the world. It's offering ways to show leadership and further climb the career ladder to higher positions. But beware, as we know it's a career change, not a promotion.

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Opportunities and strategies to grow into a Senior Engineering Manager role.

In the end, advancing your career is all about getting the right opportunities at the right time and a good portion of luck.

These are some interesting things going on in the Engineering Management space and you probably don't want to miss them.

Software Lead Weekly

A weekly email for busy people who care about people, culture and leadership.

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Awesome engineering management

Pointers and tools for learning and day-to-day practice of engineering management & leadership.

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Curated list of awesome lists

This list provides a progression to help with the transition to management. From general to specifics. It starts with an overview of the role, then describes its requirements, and its position relative to others. Then we delves into the day-to-day tools of the trade, both organizational and behavioral. At last we discuss about some of the dark sides of the job.

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Managers Club

This is a curated list of other resources for engineering managers. Hopefully, you can find them useful. Whenever I find another resource that is worth adding, I will update this list. Suggestions are always appreciated.

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Engineering Manager Resources

A list of engineering manager resource links.

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Growing into a Senior role pays off – $30,000 per year to be exact.

Not only is the progression from individual Engineering Manager to a Senior role a natural progression, it also makes all the difference in your wallet.

On a global average, Senior Engineering Manager receive a $30,000 salary hike when they go from individual contributor to senior personnel.

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Courses to practice crucial Engineering Management skills.

These days, courses are no longer a sequence of videos. They are usually accompanied by projects and a learning community, keeping you accountable and on the path.

Our experts recommend these courses, from free selections to paid programs.

Engineering Project Management: Mastering Project Complexity

Engineering Project Management: Mastering Project Complexity

In this program, you will learn the project management skills you need to successfully manage engineering projects. First you will focus on the early project phases, which are crucial to achieve project success. The areas covered include the project manager and the team, the project process and the project context. At the end of this part of the program you will have created your own project execution plan

Technology and Engineering Management Graduate Program

Technology and Engineering Management Graduate Program

The Technology and Engineering Management Graduate Program provides the breadth of skillsets required for management in those sectors. Building on existing work experience, this program teaches financial analysis, establishing a strategic direction, and building dynamic, cohesive teams. You will develop comprehensive managerial expertise as well as learn how to optimize it for your industry. You will master the principles of financial reporting and investments, learn a theoretical framework for evaluating and making decisions, and apply entrepreneurial strategy to successfully develop, promote and lead your business. Benefits from this can be achieved across a range of operational areas and enhance shareholder value.

SAE course: Engineering Management Academy ACAD09

SAE course: Engineering Management Academy ACAD09

As we gain experience and grow in our professional careers, we each develop our own communication style, and we tend to operate within that style with great comfort. However, in higher leadership roles, we must recognize that we need to raise our communication effectiveness in many more situations and with a much wider variety of people. In this section, you will learn skills that will allow you to communicate effectively with direct reports, co-workers, management and suppliers. Successful completion of technical projects, engineering research and analysis is only a fraction of an engineering manager\'s job. An equally important portion involves communicating the results of these technical projects effectively to gain acceptance for the next stage of implementation. Effective communications, both written and verbal are paramount to our success.

Engineering Management MSc

Engineering Management MSc

The online Engineering Management MSc will equip you with practical and theoretical knowledge of modern engineering, alongside a grounding in management. Offering much more than a generic MBA, the course has been designed by engineers, for engineers. It aims to meet the needs of a changing engineering environment and expand your engineering management career options. There has never been a more crucial time for businesses to have technically competent managers, and our specialised curriculum brings a modern, technology-focused perspective to tried and tested management strategies. Specialist modules like: Business Strategy for Engineers, Emerging and Disruptive Technologies, and Decision Making for Engineering Managers are aligned with market needs to help you learn high-demand skills and enhance your engineering management career opportunities.

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Take the next step with a
Engineering Management mentor

There is no better source of accountability and motivation than having a personal mentor. What used to be impossible to find is now just two clicks away! All mentors are vetted & hands-on!

Experienced R&D leader with a passion for SaaS and building high performance cross functional teams. Managed teams of size 40+ distributed via sub team approach. Worked at startups and large corporations driving delivery of core technologies to product and customer. Believes that transparency and honesty are the key parts of …

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Over the past 20+ years as a manager of managers, line manager, team lead, and individual contributor, I am most proud of the moments I've helped others to meet and exceed their personal and professional goals. I am looking forward to meeting you! CAREER DEVELOPMENT COACHING for managers and ICs: …

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Matthew Boyle is an experienced technical leader in the field of distributed systems, specializing in using Go. He has worked at huge companies such as Cloudflare and General Electric, as well as exciting high-growth startups such as Curve and Crowdcube. Matt has been writing Go for production since 2018 and …

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Head of Engineering with wide experience in managing Engineering Strategy, Tech teams and building highly scalable and robust distributed systems. Have strong understanding of all stages of Software Development Lifecycle as well as Agile methodologies and have wide experience in using them in daily development process. Focused on business requirements …


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Best books to further your Engineering Management understanding.

A well-written and thorough book can be an amazing path to build deeper understand and also act as a handbook as you discover the internet's vast resources.

These are our and our experts top picks to get started building career-relevant skills.

An Elegant Puzzle: Systems of Engineering Management

An Elegant Puzzle: Systems of Engineering Management

Will Larson's An Elegant Puzzle orients around the particular challenges of engineering management--from sizing teams to technical debt to succession planning--and provides a path to the good solutions. Drawing from his experience at Digg, Uber, and Stripe, Will Larson has developed a thoughtful approach to engineering management that leaders of all levels at companies of all sizes can apply. An Elegant Puzzle balances structured principles and human-centric thinking to help any leader create more effective and rewarding organizations for engineers to thrive in.

97 Things Every Engineering Manager Should Know: Collective Wisdom from the Experts

97 Things Every Engineering Manager Should Know: Collective Wisdom from the Experts

Managing people is hard, and the industry as a whole is bad at it. Many managers lack the experience, training, tools, texts, and frameworks to do it well. From mentoring interns to working in senior management, this book will take you through the stages of management and provide actionable advice on how to approach the obstacles you’ll encounter as a technical manager.

System Engineering Management

System Engineering Management

Using a "total systems management" approach, this book covers everything from initial establishment to system retirement, including design and development, testing, production, operations, maintenance, and support. This new edition has been fully updated to reflect the latest tools and best practices, and includes rich discussion on computer-based modeling and hardware and software systems integration.

Staff Engineer: Leadership beyond the management track

Staff Engineer: Leadership beyond the management track

What are the skills you need to develop to reach Staff Engineer? Are technical abilities alone sufficient to reach and succeed in that role? How do most folks reach this role? What is your manager’s role in helping you along the way? Will you enjoy being a Staff Engineer or will you toil for years to achieve a role that doesn’t suit you? Staff Engineer: Leadership beyond the management track is a pragmatic look at attaining and operating in Staff engineering roles, building on the lived experience of folks who've walked before you.

Engineering Management in a Global Environment: Guidelines and Procedures

Engineering Management in a Global Environment: Guidelines and Procedures

Engineering Management in a Global Environment: Guidelines and Procedures provides guidelines for changing roles of engineering managers in the international arena. The book covers global, multidisciplinary, and flat engineering organizations. Recommended procedures for hiring, mentoring, work assignments, and meetings in the global arena are detailed. Guidelines for keeping up with technology and with the changing world, performance reviews, layoffs, necessary engineering tools, and work atmosphere are discussed. Procedures for engineering team building and for having good relationships with upper management, customers, subcontractors, and regulatory agencies are provided.

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The Engineering Management must-reads you shouldn't miss.

Key articles and posts of industry experts can help you get a better picture of what you are getting into.

In our opinion, these are some must-reads you really shouldn't miss.

A Day in the Life of an Engineering Manager

Since many prospective software engineering managers ask me about my job and what it entailed, I decided to create this detailed look at how I spent my time. While every company and role is different, I hope this post gives you some firsthand insight into a day in the life of an engineering manager.

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How to become an engineering manager

Engineering managers are responsible for planning and overseeing projects, and leading a team of engineers. They resolve high level technical engineering issues, as well as performing managerial duties such as budgeting, recruitment and training, and interdepartmental liaison.

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What Makes A Good Engineering Manager? 12 Traits You Need

Software teams today are certainly looking for ways to enhance value and drive productivity. Unfortunately, this is often easier said than done. Optimizing and enhancing a team of software engineers starts with having solid managers who possess the skills necessary to maximize production pipelines and increase throughput—all without burning out talented developers. Suffice it to say that a solid engineering manager is worth their weight in gold. With all this in mind, here are some of the traits that define what makes a good engineering manager.

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6 Strengths for Modern Engineering Managers

Engineering managers are trained to use their organizational and analytical skills to lead their teams in a variety of complex tasks. Their education and experience provides a foundation for problem solving, and by developing the following strengths they’ll be better equipped to successfully manage projects and add value to their organization.

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The engineering manager's guide to the code review process

In this guide, we’ve assembled foundational resources for software engineering leaders to be able to communicate concisely about the outcomes of code review (both the traditional goal of higher-quality code as well as improved collaboration and problem-solving within teams). This guide also highlights the manager’s role in the code review process, including eight review dynamics common to engineering teams. These dynamics include ways to recognize various working patterns in teams, and ways to leverage these insights to coach the team towards more sustainable practices and help reduce any friction in working together.

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People, Product, and Technology: A Beginner’s Guide to Engineering Management

What makes a successful engineering manager? Success usually depends on how managers lead their people, product, and technology. In this article, we examine what it takes to get started and progress in the engineering manager role.

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Get the help you need & advance your career

Ready to make the switch? Connect with one of our engineering managers and don't miss out on your next career step.