Staff Engineer
by Will Larson, Tanya Reilly · first published 2021
62% recommend38% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Covers the Staff Engineer role beyond the management track, including tech lead, architect, and individual contributor archetypes. Recommended for engineers aiming at senior technical leadership.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
Affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
Related books
2022–2026Staff Engineer's Path
Tanya Reilly
Recommended by 9 · mentioned by 159 recommend · 15 mention9 recommend · 159 recommend
2015–2024Soft Skills
John Z. Sonmez
Recommended by 14 · mentioned by 1714 recommend · 17 mention14 recommend · 1714 recommend
2020–2026Software Engineering at Google
Titus Winters, Tom Manshreck, Hyrum Wright
Recommended by 21 · mentioned by 2921 recommend · 29 mention21 recommend · 2921 recommend
2019–2026System Design Interview - an Insider's Guide
Alex Xu, Sahn Lam
Recommended by 20 · mentioned by 3020 recommend · 30 mention20 recommend · 3020 recommend
2008–2026The Systems Bible
John Gall
Recommended by 23 · mentioned by 3423 recommend · 34 mention23 recommend · 3423 recommend
2019–2026An Elegant Puzzle
Will Larson
Recommended by 41 · mentioned by 6041 recommend · 60 mention41 recommend · 6041 recommend
2008–2026Systemantics
John Gall
Recommended by 45 · mentioned by 7545 recommend · 75 mention45 recommend · 7545 recommend
2017–2026The Manager's Path
Camille Fournier
Recommended by 89 · mentioned by 10789 recommend · 107 mention89 recommend · 10789 recommend
This article could have been two bullet points. 1. Read the book Staff Engineer: Leadership Beyond the Management Track by Will Larson and identify which archetype you are - Tech Lead, Solver, Architect, The Right Hand (Details are in the book) 2. Find an organization which has…
on “How to Advance in Your Career as an IC” ↗…to get the title at another company. The people who bring the most value to each team are often the unsung heroes who don't get promoted fast either. Good leaders will take notice however. The book "Staff Engineer" by Will Larson has some good bits on this topic.
on “The Google incentive mismatch: Problems with promotion-oriented cultures” ↗…modern book around lots of concepts talked about on HN over the last 5-10 years. Others on my list that I think are good books: * Empowered * Soft Skills * Pragmatic Programmer * Clean Architecture * Staff Engineer by Will Larson
on “Ask HN: Best programming books in the last couple of years?” ↗…Architecture course. It goes over the things to help one move into an architect role. What it really sounds like is that this junior is going to pass you by because you "don't want to". That said I'd recommend, Staff Engineer, by Will Larson. https://lethain.gumroad.com/l/staff-engineer
on “What are some educational resources for more senior engineers?” ↗I think The Missing README goes quite well with Will Larson's "Staff Engineer" and Camille Fournier's "The Manager's Path". These three book will take you from entry-level engineer, through a staff/technical lead, all the way to management at the SVP of Engineering level.
on “The Missing Readme: A Guide for the New Software Engineer” ↗Staff Engineer: Leadership beyond the management track by Will Larson (https://staffeng.com/book) Peopleware
on “Ask HN: Reading material on how to be a better software engineer?” ↗Very wide range depending on the company. Startups and the like $200K/yr+ and equity. The equivalent at Google is $500K - ?. As an aside, Staff Engineers have to ride this strange line of being tech leads, managers, architects, and ICs. In my experience, one part or all parts will suffer. Will Larson's book[1] dances well around the ambiguity, but basically…
on “Ask HN: How is the job search coming along for people who got laid off?” ↗…become a dogma really easily. But if you can question and critique and reach out to other resources and is an advanced beginner to coding, I can see this book bringing value. - An Elegant Puzzle and Staff Engineer by Will Larson: those helped me get clarity on the role of the technical team in an organization. A team that produces code as the main driver of impact in a product/service. I lump them both because…
on “Ask HN: Books That Dramatically Transformed Your Programming Skills” ↗> You end up being a hub for the larger team, helping everyone do their jobs. This is 70% of my job as a Sr Staff Engineer and I love it. But yes, it does take a certain temperament to enjoy it or find it satisfying. I like collaboration and pairing and helping other ICs grow their careers. And I love teaching, which this…
on “My thoughts about the Principal role” ↗…with more interesting technical problems". This is largely false. In most organizations those roles are about empowering other people. You can see this if you read the stories Will Larson's new book, Staff Engineer: Leadership Beyond the Management Track. I think that's _one_ way to do it, but it defeats the purpose of having an IC path. It's basically "ship code while being a lite-manager". There's space for more…
on “My thoughts about the Principal role” ↗I’m basing my feedback on Will Larson’s Staff Engineer archetypes (https://staffeng.com/guides/staff-archetypes) so read that first if you’re unfamiliar. It sounds like you’re in a company that only has Tech Lead and Right Hand staff+ roles available, and…
on “Ask HN: Advice for Principal Engineer looking to take a step back?” ↗…strategic partnerships? Their due diligence is far more severe than mine (or the author's). I asked the question because it's not the first time I've heard something similar to "learn to talk like other staff engineers". I've heard it a few times, I've read/heard other people being told some variation of it, and it even shows up in the Staff Engineer book by Will Larson. I was hoping to get more insight from people…
on “I failed 3 job applications, here's what I learned” ↗Can anyone compare this book to Staff Engineer: Leadership beyond the management track by Will Larson?
on “The Staff Engineer's Path – Book Review” ↗