The secret to becoming a staff software engineer is to maintain a track record of excellence as you climb the engineering career ladder. Just like the role of any leader, a staff engineer is in charge of leading engineering teams and overseeing projects, from planning to execution.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Staff software engineers\u2019 duties vary from organization to organization, but there are four basic categories into which a staff engineer\u2019s duties can fall. Will Larson, the Chief Technology Officer at the software company, Calm, has named these roles the Tech Lead, the Architect, the Solver, and the Right Hand. Below is a brief rundown of these roles, which often overlap.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Learning more about what a staff software engineer does and how you can prepare for this career path can help you determine whether the role interests you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A staff software engineer works on the technical team at an organization, typically under a senior management-level team member, to repair, develop, and maintain company software to ensure an efficient user experience. As a staff software engineer, your duties include finding and implementing solutions for issues, creating new software or applications by writing code, using visual development environments to debug, and ensuring the technical architecture runs smoothly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
A significant aspect of your job is to not only contribute your skills but also mentor other software engineers to improve their skills and productivity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Staff software engineers work with cross-functional teams to design, plan, and implement complex software-related projects. As senior leaders, they can apply their years of experience to make executive decisions and provide guidance to other engineers. They stay current with software trends to design solutions that prevent security risks and help people within the organization work more efficiently. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
They can also use this knowledge to identify innovative opportunities for improvement and prepare competitive technical strategies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here are some primary tasks staff software engineers often manage:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Every engineering organization has an overwhelming amount of technical problems. A staff software engineer is responsible for discovering the problems that pose a risk to the business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A large list of problems is not useful by itself. In addition to discovering problems, a staff software engineer also has the responsibility to\u00a0prioritize<\/strong>\u00a0them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A common risk is for staff software engineers to hand off prioritization to managers. While an engineering manager can help with operational logistics, they may not be as informed on the technical implications of the problems at hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Software developers inevitably grow attached to their work. Attachments often lead to conflicting technical opinions, and in the worst-case scenario, block progress for the company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tensions are high surrounding the responsibilities of a particular microservice. There is no clarity for the service\u2019s future. One team wants to expand its scope; another team wants to narrow it. Both groups have valid arguments and concerns, but development has stalled. Staff Engineers are responsible for breaking technical stalemates. They do this by talking to stakeholders, weighing trade-offs, and arriving at strong, opinionated recommendations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Recommendations are only recommendations. Staff software engineers must\u00a0push through friction\u00a0and create decisions. Decision-making is a difficult process and will leave certain engineers upset; this is something that can\u2019t simply be delegated to management. As a Staff Engineer, turning a prolonged technical debate into a recorded decision is a huge win for the company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a staff software engineer, you may find yourself holding on to an opinion. Discussions surrounding an important architecture decision are going nowhere and now a Principal Engineer needs to conduct a tiebreaker. Even though arguments can be healthy, these situations are costly and must be minimized. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Staff software engineers should practice\u00a0egoless programming\u00a0and know when to compromise. There is a difference between standing up for what you believe in and being stubborn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As with any other role, the end goal is to replicate yourself. For staff software engineers, this means creating more staff engineers. A convenient byproduct of creating a prioritized list of technical problems is that you\u2019ve automatically created a set of high-impact projects for growing senior engineers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This is a great way to elevate your colleagues while giving yourself extra bandwidth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Staff software engineers must thoughtfully choose which problems they want to personally handle. They can solve problems that most engineers cannot. By definition, there are fewer of these problems and they must be properly identified out of the sea of technical issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are two common risks if business-impacting problems are not properly assigned. First, if a staff software engineer chooses to work on a \u201ccomfortable\u201d problem, then a senior engineer misses a growth opportunity and the staff software engineer\u2019s time is underutilized. This is counterproductive because the engineering organization doesn\u2019t grow. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Second, if a complex problem is delegated to an engineer who isn\u2019t ready for it yet, an inadequate solution implemented for a critical business problem could put the company in worse shape than how it started.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here are some skills you can develop throughout your career to excel as a staff software engineer:<\/p>\n\n\n\n It can take several years to gain the skills and experience necessary to succeed as a staff software engineer. Here are some steps you can follow when preparing for this career path:<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are several opportunities to learn basic coding principles and skills early in your career. You can do this independently by taking boot camps or short courses online or pursuing personal projects in which you can practise and develop your skill set. Some high schools offer introductory coding courses, so these can be beneficial to select as electives if they’re available. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You might also consider the local community or online classes you can complete at your own pace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While software engineering roles don’t always require candidates to have formal education, completing a bachelor’s degree or college diploma in a related field can help you become a more competitive candidate during your job search. Software engineering boot camps provide opportunities for practical skill development, while a diploma or degree prepares you with valuable theoretical knowledge. A postsecondary qualification can be essential when applying for senior software engineering roles but may be optional for entry-level positions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Investing in your education is valuable if you plan to pursue a staff software engineer position. Programs related to software engineering, software development, or computer science can provide foundational skills and practical experience. As software engineering and programming are virtual, it’s often possible to complete these qualifications entirely online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can complete certifications that verify your software development abilities. These may help you impress employers and find entry-level programming or software development roles. For example, you can find certifications related to specific programming languages, web development, cloud computing, application programming interfaces (APIs), or software testing. It’s beneficial to consider certifications that demonstrate your theoretical and practical knowledge of software engineering processes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Entry-level software development roles are excellent opportunities to learn from more experienced developers and gain practical experience. For example, you may apply for a role as a junior software developer or junior software engineer. These roles typically involve writing basic code, troubleshooting errors, and assisting senior engineers or development managers with framework design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Consider volunteering for more responsibilities and leadership opportunities at every stage of your career. This allows you to demonstrate and develop skills you can use to become a senior or staff software engineer, such as teamwork, communication, and problem-solving. These roles often involve more leadership, supervisory, and strategic planning responsibilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a staff software engineer is a senior leader within a company, some organizations may prefer candidates with formal education or an advanced degree. For example, you might pursue a Master of Science in software engineering to prepare for the role’s responsibilities. This is not always a requirement, so developing your skills and gaining leadership experience may be sufficient to qualify you for career advancement opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Depending on your career goals and the size of the organization you work for, seeking internal promotions might help you advance to a staff software engineer role more quickly. Building an excellent reputation by demonstrating your skills and abilities can make your career progression more natural. Some small organizations may not require a staff software engineer, so seeking roles with larger companies may offer more opportunities to achieve this job title. <\/p>\n\n\n\n As a senior position, the hiring process can be competitive, so highlighting advanced education or certifications and including letters of recommendation can be highly beneficial.<\/p>\n\n\n\nTransform competing opinions into decisions<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Concede with humility<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Create more staff software engineers<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Choose the right problem to solve<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Staff software engineer skills<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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How to start your career as a staff software engineer<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Learn about coding and programming<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Pursue a postsecondary qualification<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Seek certifications<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Gain experience<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Consider higher education<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Apply for career advancement opportunities<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Recommended Articles <\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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References<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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