From New Grad to Staff Engineer in 3 Years: The Meta Success Story
How Simon achieved the highest performance ratings and built a rocket ship career through ownership, curiosity, and exceptional mentorship
The Remarkable Journey
Simon's career trajectory at Meta reads like a Silicon Valley fairy tale. Starting as a new graduate (IC3), he reached Staff Engineer (IC6) in just three years—a feat that typically takes 5-7 years. Along the way, he earned two "Redefines Expectations" (RE) ratings, Meta's highest and rarest performance rating that most engineers never achieve even once in their entire careers.
But this isn't just a story about promotions and ratings. It's about the strategic decisions, mindset shifts, and key relationships that accelerate career growth in big tech.
The Foundation: Early Momentum Matters
Strategic Preparation Before Day One
Simon's success began before he even started full-time. As a former Meta intern, he had already learned the internal tools—a crucial advantage that saved him "4-8 weeks of ramp-up time." But more importantly, he spent time before joining learning technologies like React and exploring different programming patterns.
Key Insight: "We're pattern matching machines. The more patterns we've seen, the easier it is to apply them." Even if you haven't used Meta's internal JavaScript type checker Flow, having TypeScript experience makes the transition seamless.
The Power of the Right Manager
Perhaps the most critical factor in Simon's success was his manager, Bala. When Simon expressed his ambitious goal of reaching IC5 in three years, Bala didn't dismiss it—he drew up a plan on the whiteboard. This manager had made a similar journey himself and knew it was possible.
Bala's impact extended far beyond technical guidance:
- Deep technical mentorship (he was a recently converted IC6 to manager)
- Product strategy and roadmap setting
- Communication coaching
- Experiment design and execution
The relationship lasted 5.5 years—an eternity at a company known for frequent reorganizations.
The Secret to "Redefines Expectations" Ratings
First RE Rating: The Power of Impact
Simon's first RE rating came from driving projects that exceeded the team's half-year revenue goal by multiple times. But it wasn't just about the numbers—it was about the behaviors:
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End-to-end ownership: When experiments showed neutral results, Simon didn't stop there. He dug deep with data scientists to understand why, iterated on targeting, and worked with designers to improve the experience.
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Technical breadth: He reviewed code across Android, iOS, JavaScript, and PHP—helping uplevel both the codebase and his colleagues through thoughtful code reviews.
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People development: He took responsibility for recruiting and onboarding new team members, growing the team from 2 to 8 people.
Second RE Rating: Scaling Through Others
The second RE rating demonstrated a crucial transition from individual contributor to force multiplier. Simon began leading "pods" of engineers, taking responsibility not just for his own output but for project success and team member growth.
The key behavioral shift: Moving from "I hope this person gets it done" to "I am responsible for the outcome, regardless of who executes it."
The Promotion Progression: Behavioral Evolution
IC3 to IC4 (6 months): Task Completion to Project Ownership
- Before: Complete assigned tasks
- After: Drive projects to completion and identify follow-up opportunities
- Key behavior: Taking ownership of project outcomes, not just individual deliverables
IC4 to IC5 (3 halves): Individual Impact to Team Leadership
- Before: Responsible for your own success
- After: Responsible for others' success and project outcomes
- Key behavior: Leading pods of engineers, mentoring, and ensuring team success
IC5 to IC6 (2 halves): Team Leadership to Organizational Impact
- Before: Managing people and projects directly
- After: Scaling yourself through systems and delegation
- Key behavior: Creating processes that catch problems early, delegating effectively while maintaining accountability
The Management Detour: Lessons Learned
Despite his IC success, Simon tried management for nearly a year. The transition was challenging for several reasons:
- Identity crisis: "Will I just become a middle manager who's lost all technical abilities?"
- Bad timing: His mentor manager had an accident, his skip-level was on leave, and he had to relocate from London
- Over-promising: Trying to get two people promoted from IC5 to IC6 simultaneously on the same team
- Technical attachment: Struggling to let go of hands-on technical work
When his director asked, "Simon, do you want to go back to IC?" his gut response was immediate: "Yes, yes I do."
The realization: As an IC6 who enjoys mentoring, he could pick and choose coaching opportunities as a "bonus" rather than having it be his primary evaluation criteria. This provided more flexibility and aligned better with his interests.
The Communication Multiplier
One of Simon's manager's key teachings was that many people are held back not by their technical abilities, but by their inability to communicate their impact effectively.
The 5-Second Rule for Written Communication
Simon's framework for effective workplace communication:
- Assume 5-10 seconds of attention: Make it incredibly parseable at a glance
- Lead with TL;DR: Include numbers and concrete outcomes
- Structure for different audiences: High-level impact for leadership, technical details for fellow engineers
- Stay above the fold: Critical information should be visible without expanding the post
The Meta Internal Forum Strategy
At Meta, a single workplace post can reach thousands of people. Simon learned to write updates that clearly communicated:
1. What was accomplished (with numbers)
2. Why it mattered to the business
3. What the next steps were
4. Technical details for those who wanted to go deeper
The Hidden Rewards: Discretionary Equity
High performers at Meta can receive "Additional Equity" (AE)—discretionary stock grants that only directors can approve. Simon received this twice:
- First AE: After his IC5 to IC6 promotion, likely to address equity compensation gaps from starting as a new grad
- Second AE: After successfully shipping a company priority product ahead of schedule while transitioning to management
These grants can significantly impact total compensation beyond standard promotion cycles.
The Intern Success Formula
Having managed interns and served as an intern director, Simon identified the key differentiators:
What Makes Great Interns
- Velocity above all: The primary measure is project completion
- Ask questions early: Use the first few weeks when expectations are zero
- 30-minute rule: If stuck for more than 30 minutes, ask for help
- Leverage peer network: Don't rely solely on your manager for support
- Build relationships: Peer feedback is crucial for final evaluations
The Sustainable Pace
Simon averaged about 50 hours per week during his growth phase, but emphasized that sustainability comes from interest and passion. When he lost enthusiasm for his work, the same hours felt like a grind, prompting his team switch.
Universal Principles for Career Growth
The Ownership Mindset
"Nothing at Meta is someone else's problem." When blocked, don't wait—read the code, understand the decisions, propose solutions. This curiosity-driven ownership was Simon's primary growth driver.
The Technical vs. Non-Technical Balance
Simon estimates you can reach IC5 with just baseline technical skills if you excel at:
- Cross-functional collaboration
- Communication and influence
- People development
- Project management
- Strategic thinking
Technical brilliance can be a differentiator, but soft skills are often the limiting factor for rapid career growth.
The Meta Advantage
What kept Simon at Meta for his entire career:
- People: Empathetic, technically excellent colleagues
- Flexibility: Global mobility and internal transfer opportunities
- Growth opportunities: Ability to switch teams when losing motivation
- Scale: Impact potential across billions of users
The Takeaway
Simon's journey from new grad to Staff Engineer in three years wasn't about working 80-hour weeks or having exceptional technical talent. It was about:
- Strategic preparation before starting
- Finding exceptional mentorship and maintaining that relationship
- Taking ownership beyond your immediate responsibilities
- Scaling impact through others as you grow
- Communicating effectively to amplify your contributions
- Being curious and treating problems as puzzles to solve
The most powerful insight? Career acceleration comes from expanding your circle of ownership—from tasks to projects to teams to organizations. Each promotion represents a fundamental shift in how you create value, not just doing more of the same work.
For ambitious engineers early in their careers, Simon's story provides a concrete roadmap: focus on ownership and curiosity, find great mentors, and remember that your technical skills are just the foundation—your impact on others and the organization is what drives exponential career growth.