The Journey to Becoming a Staff Engineer in Big Tech: Insights and Advice from Industry Experts

Becoming a staff engineer at a major tech company is a significant milestone in a software engineer’s career. It represents a shift from being an individual contributor focused primarily on coding to a senior technical leader who influences multiple teams and drives large-scale impact across an organization. Recently, a panel of experienced engineers from companies like Google, Meta, Amazon, Airbnb, Activision, and Netflix shared their journeys, challenges, and advice on reaching this coveted level. Here’s a comprehensive summary of their insights and practical tips to help you navigate your own path to staff engineering.

Understanding the Staff Engineer Role

• What is a Staff Engineer?
  Staff engineer is a senior individual contributor (IC) role above the senior engineer level, recognized as a leader who drives projects with wide-reaching impact. Titles vary across companies (e.g., L6 at Google, E6 at Meta), but the core expectation is consistent: the ability to influence across multiple teams or even company-wide initiatives.

• Scope and Influence:
  Unlike previous levels, staff engineers are expected not only to deliver technically but also to lead, coordinate, and influence others. This often means managing complex projects, mentoring others, and aligning teams toward common goals.

Paths and Projects That Lead to Promotion

• Diverse Journeys:
  Panelists shared varied experiences—some got promoted internally after years, others made lateral moves to new companies where their work was recognized at higher levels. Both internal promotions and strategic moves can be effective.

• Key Project Characteristics:

• Large Impact: Projects that solved critical company problems or created infrastructure/tools used by many engineers.
• Leadership and Collaboration: Success involved coordinating multiple engineers, gaining buy-in from stakeholders, and leading execution rather than solo coding.
• Technical Complexity + Communication: Delivering technically challenging solutions while effectively communicating their value across technical and non-technical audiences.

• Multiplicative Impact: Building scalable solutions or platforms that enable other engineers to work more efficiently, amplifying your influence.

• Examples:

• Building a comprehensive graph database to map microservices and their interdependencies, addressing a major security challenge.
• Leading a project that reduced video processing costs by 94% through cross-team collaboration.
• Developing internal debugging tools that saved thousands of engineering hours across teams.
• Modernizing product architecture to enable new capabilities and improve reliability.

Balancing Technical Execution and Leadership

• Delegation vs. Doing:
  Staff engineers must find the right balance between hands-on coding and leading others. This balance varies by individual, team dynamics, and project needs. Some weeks may be more execution-heavy, others more leadership-focused.

• Leading by Example:
  Leading technically can mean diving deep into critical problems, pairing with junior engineers, and ensuring quality, while also mentoring and guiding the team.

• Manager Feedback:
  Regular, honest conversations with your manager about how you spend your time and your leadership contributions are crucial to find the right balance.

Finding and Creating Scope

• Don’t “Invent” Scope Out of Thin Air:
  Instead of searching randomly for something to work on, discover the pressing problems that are holding your team or company back. These are often “hidden” landmines others avoid or overlook.

• Be the Person Who Raises Difficult Issues:
  Taking initiative to address problematic legacy systems or technical debt—even if it’s unpopular—can demonstrate leadership and vision.

• Understand Business Needs:
  Scope should align with the company’s priorities and deliver tangible business value.

Building Relationships and Visibility

• Relationship Building is Key:
  Success at staff level depends heavily on who you know and how well they know your work. Build genuine relationships across teams, managers, and leadership.

• Be Visible:
  Remote work makes this harder, so be intentional about sharing your work and engaging socially. Use presentations, write-ups, and informal chats to keep others informed.

• Mentorship:
  Mentor others and seek mentorship for yourself. This helps grow your network and builds advocates who can support your promotion.

• Communication Skills:
  Tailor your communication based on your audience—technical deep-dives for engineers, high-level impact for executives and non-technical stakeholders. Practice clear, concise messaging.

• Reframe “Self-Promotion” as Sharing Value:
  Communicating your work is not bragging; it's about showing how your contributions benefit others and improve the team or company.

Heuristics for Choosing Projects and Teams to Maximize Promotion Chances

• Look for High-Impact Problems:
  Seek projects that affect multiple teams or critical business metrics.

• Infrastructure and Tooling Often Offer More Leverage:
  Building core platforms or infrastructure can amplify your impact across many engineers and products.

• Understand Your Company's Promotion Process:
  Engage with senior leaders or those on promotion committees to learn what projects and behaviors are valued.

• Maintain a Portfolio of Work:
  Multiple projects demonstrating leadership, impact, and technical excellence over time are more convincing than a single big project.

• Relationship with Your Manager:
  A good manager relationship is fundamental. They can advocate for you and guide you toward the right opportunities.

Advice for Staff Engineers Seeking to Exceed Expectations

• Scale Up Your Impact:
  Move from influencing your immediate team to broader groups or company-wide initiatives.

• Balance Delivery and Strategic Leadership:
  Deliver high-quality projects while contributing to long-term architecture and best practices.

• Keep Developing Your Leadership Skills:
  Continue mentoring, advocating for your team, and shaping technical strategy.

Resources for Improving Communication and Mentorship

• Know Your Audience:
  Research who you’re communicating with and tailor your message accordingly.

• Practice Conciseness and Clarity:
  Learn to convey complex ideas succinctly, which is highly valued in leadership.

• Build Empathy:
  Understand stakeholders’ goals and constraints to foster better collaboration.

• Seek Mentorship Actively:
  Don’t wait for mentors to come to you; reach out and build those connections.

Final Thoughts and Takeaways

• Promotion to staff engineer is not a race; everyone’s timeline is different.
• Focus on solving real, impactful problems and building relationships with your peers and leaders.
• Communicate your work effectively to gain visibility and build your personal brand within the company.
• Balance technical excellence with leadership and collaboration to maximize your influence.
• Understand and navigate your company’s promotion process proactively.

Connect with the Panelists and Continue Learning

Many panelists share their knowledge on platforms like LinkedIn, Substack, and Twitter, providing ongoing advice on engineering career growth and technical leadership. Engaging with their content can offer valuable perspectives and practical tips.

Conclusion

The journey to becoming a staff engineer is challenging but rewarding. It demands not only technical expertise but also leadership, communication, and strategic vision. By focusing on impactful projects, building strong relationships, and articulating your value clearly, you can position yourself for success at this senior level. Remember, it’s about making a difference not just through code but by enabling your teams and organization to thrive.

If you’re aiming for staff engineer, start by identifying the biggest challenges in your area, build relationships with key stakeholders, communicate your contributions effectively, and seek out opportunities that allow you to demonstrate leadership and impact across teams.