DeveloperWeek 2023

Alex Peattie, Senior Engineering Manager, Front

Engineering managers (both new and tenured) are often faced with this question for their reports, colleagues or friends: "what exactly do you do all day?". The answer isn't always obvious! Should an EM be contributing to their company's codebase? How do they efficiently juggle their time between their different commitments? Should an EM at a 20 person company be working on different priorities as someone in the same role at a 20,000 person company?

In this session, we unpack the role of an EM, and walk through the 6 buckets of where their time should be spent: People, Process, Planning & execution, Hiring, Technical leadership and Interfacing. We'll share best-practices from EMs at FAANG, scaleups and unicorns on how best to split your time and maintain focus as an EM - and see how an EMs role evolves according to their seniority and company's stage.

Finally, we'll invert the question, and look at what an engineering manager should not spend their time on. We'll see how well-intentioned EMs can end up distracting and demotivating their teams by putting their focus in the wrong areas, and give actionable advice on how to avoid these common pitfalls.