What is Box ?
What a Senior Staff Software Engineer Does
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Re: What a Senior Staff Software Engineer Does
#22I find it interesting that a culture is being described here where Senior Engineers are considered lower level, with multiple higher levels above that. It just goes to show that titles mean different things at different companies, and you cannot generalize across this industry. I've had the "Staff Software Engineer" title once in my career. It was at IBM, in the 90s, where it was a was a title given to anyone who was…
At my last company entry level was 'Senior'. Only interns were in a level below.
Re: What a Senior Staff Software Engineer Does
#23I find it interesting that a culture is being described here where Senior Engineers are considered lower level, with multiple higher levels above that. It just goes to show that titles mean different things at different companies, and you cannot generalize across this industry. I've had the "Staff Software Engineer" title once in my career. It was at IBM, in the 90s, where it was a was a title given to anyone who was…
I always thought it was intended to differentiate “line” engineers (charged with the core work product) from “staff” engineers (focused on advising and supporting the org more broadly): https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staff_and_line
I think we should have Line Engineers and Guards Engineers.
Re: What a Senior Staff Software Engineer Does
#24I'm sure this just suits some people's fancy but the idea of being in a "track" is so off putting and mind numbing to me. Ooh here is where I'll be exactly in 5, 10, 15 years. So exciting /s. So glad I went self employed almost a decade ago.
It really does suck. In some ways they say that you just have to be doing x, y and z but it ends up being so vague and fuzzy that it's frustrating. They end up just saying "well you have done that, but not enough times or for long enough (with no specific details about those criteria)."
I think it works out fine for people with a good manager who for whatever reason thinks your style is good. But if they aren't good or don't quite care about you then you'll eat shit forever.
Re: What a Senior Staff Software Engineer Does
#25Call me unambitious but I think I’d rather just write some code every day.
There is nothing wrong with knowing what you like to do, and doing it. And having folk like you on a team is important - teams struggle whenever everyone is jockeying for a better position. So while "unambitious" can get a negative connotation, it deserves more respect - it gets the job done, and that is valuable.
Mmm, being the only non-striver on a team full of them also sounds like a bad time, a recipe for becoming under-valued.
There is a condescension to this thing where people say “hey, that’s ok too” when it’s actually not ok for themselves. I can accept that, it is what it is, but it’s definitely there.
Re: What a Senior Staff Software Engineer Does
#26Call me unambitious but I think I’d rather just write some code every day.
Same. Just be who you are. The tech industry “growth expectations” culture is garbage.
Just as a personal anecdote everyone told me constantly that I would never make Staff Engineer at Google (roughly the 90th percentile rank) by just contributing to the code base. But that is what I did, and I was promoted to that rank. And I got the satisfaction of not participating in all the anti patterns of “leadership “ where one person gets promoted for taking credit for the work of many other people, or for solving problems they also created, etc.
In short I rather admire a trade like dentistry or carpentry where one just practices one’s skills to the best of their ability, and there is no such thing as “Senior Staff Dentist”.
Re: What a Senior Staff Software Engineer Does
#27I'm sure this just suits some people's fancy but the idea of being in a "track" is so off putting and mind numbing to me. Ooh here is where I'll be exactly in 5, 10, 15 years. So exciting /s. So glad I went self employed almost a decade ago.
It's more exciting if I'm making $300k google salaries at the end of the track.
A track with 6-7 difficult rungs and +10% pay increase? nah, I'm good.
Re: What a Senior Staff Software Engineer Does
#28I read the article once and thought, "So at Box a senior staff SWE is differentiated from a senior SWE by mentoring others, and in so doing, has a greater impact. And senior staff is still in the technical track, not the management track. What does the author (or, What do HN commentators) think are the differences between mentoring and managing? Other than the obvious of course." I read it again--I liked the article-…
All of these level requirements are tacked on by the HR department because they are required for advancement in non-technical roles. Unfortunately they really foul up personal dynamics as some people believe they need to 'mentor' their colleagues in order to fulfill the responsibilities of their job title... how fucking condescending is that?
Re: What a Senior Staff Software Engineer Does
#29I find it interesting that a culture is being described here where Senior Engineers are considered lower level, with multiple higher levels above that. It just goes to show that titles mean different things at different companies, and you cannot generalize across this industry. I've had the "Staff Software Engineer" title once in my career. It was at IBM, in the 90s, where it was a was a title given to anyone who was…
"Staff" is one of several military terms that have made its way into business job titles.
When used properly, it should refer to someone who supports front line roles.
The ratio of Staff to Line in IT is generally 7:1.
The OP cites spending ~50% of her time on creating scrum tasks; very much a staff function.
Re: What a Senior Staff Software Engineer Does
#30I read the article once and thought, "So at Box a senior staff SWE is differentiated from a senior SWE by mentoring others, and in so doing, has a greater impact. And senior staff is still in the technical track, not the management track. What does the author (or, What do HN commentators) think are the differences between mentoring and managing? Other than the obvious of course." I read it again--I liked the article-…
All of these level requirements are tacked on by the HR department because they are required for advancement in non-technical roles. Unfortunately they really foul up personal dynamics as some people believe they need to 'mentor' their colleagues in order to fulfill the responsibilities of their job title... how fucking condescending is that?
This seems like a really uncharitable view of mentorship.
I have never felt condescended to when I was being mentored by someone with more skills or experience in any of my jobs, and I certainly hope that the people I help through one on ones, code review, and pairing now don’t feel as though there’s any condescension in it. I think mostly, we all just want to become as good as we can be at our jobs.