Staff Engineer's Path
by Tanya Reilly · first published 2022
60% recommend33% neutral7% critical
Why HN recommends it
Addresses the career stage where writing better code stops being enough, focusing on how a staff engineer's role is defined and handled; an easy-to-read guide for individual contributors making that transition.
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The Staff Engineer's Path, Tanya Reilly. Being a staff engineer comes with challenges that seniors don't have, mainly the definition and content of the role itself. Tanya dives into what and how those should be handled in an…
on “Ask HN: What are some of the best books you have read in 2022?” ↗I’m currently reading The Staff Engineer's Path by Tanya Reilly and it’s really good (so far). It’s a great thing to read at the point it sounds like you have reached, where programming a little better is no longer going to move the needle, even if…
on “Ask HN: Reading material on how to be a better software engineer?” ↗You might have a look at "The Staff Engineer's Path: A Guide for Individual Contributors Navigating Growth and Change" by Tanya Reilly. Goodreads link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/63079576-the-staff-engin...
on “Ask HN: How to move from dev role to management/team lead role?” ↗The Staff Engineer's Path - Tanya Reilly https://staffeng.com/ https://leaddev.com/staffplus-new-york/on-demand
on “What are some educational resources for more senior engineers?” ↗…lot on your situation: Does "CTO" mean you are the tech lead of a small (single team) engineering organization? Then everything written for staff engineers applies. E.g I've heard good things about "Staff engineer's path" by Tanya Reilly. Does "CTO" mean you are leading an org that is too large to be hands-on with tech, and need to build an effective structure and culture? Then I second the recommendation for "an elegant…
on “Ask HN: What are good books/blogs to read for a first time CTO?” ↗…language(s) pick a book that allows them to go from intermediate to advanced in that language and really understand it inside out. * Ousterhout, A Philosophy of Software Design * Data and Reality * The Staff Engineer’s Path by Tanya Reilly to demystify the upper IC track. Or The Manager's Path by Camille Fournier.
on “Forklifts require training” ↗"The Staff Engineer’s Path" which the author wrote is a decent book. It covers all the things I don't like about working on software development (or being a SWE) and that's exactly why it's worth a read.
on “Being Glue: Tanya Reilly” ↗I strongly recommend reading Tanya's book The Staff Engineer's Path (https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/61058107). I haven't read Larson's book (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56481725-staff-engineer), so can't comment on that. If anyone has read both I would…
on “How to Advance in Your Career as an IC” ↗There is a great book (written by a female engineer, Tanya Riley) called "The Staff Engineer's Path". I've learned a lot from the book, but one part of Tanya's experience that I could not relate to was having mentors who would encourage me and provide "you can do this" kind of pep talks. For a male…
on “Girls in Tech closes its doors after 17 years” ↗Has anyone read Tanya Reilly's new book "The Staff Engineer's Path"? Wondering if there's overlap in the concepts/model.
on “Staff Engineer Archetypes (2020)” ↗I was just curious as to how a Staff Engineer relates to Military Staff. I’ve just started reading the O’Reilly book The Staff Engineer’s path.
on “Staff (Military)” ↗…pamphlet. The process seems...good? But since I'm no longer in a role with the influence or authority to recommend product direction, I doubt I'll get much use out of this for a while. Tanya Reilly, The Staff Engineer's Path. This book wants to follow in the footsteps of Camille Fournier's The Manager's Path, but it seemed less specific and useful as a roadmap. Perhaps that's because of how different "Staff Engineer" is from…
on “Ask HN: What did you read in 2025?” ↗> There is a reason that books like "the staff engineer's path" cover topics such as local maximums, communication, [...] Why would they cover programming? That's what all the books on programming are for. Also I see no need for signal processing to make programming…
on “"Code was never the hard part" is an insult to all programmers” ↗Reminds me of this quote from Tonya Riley's _The Staff Engineer's Path_: > In The Art of Travel (Vintage), Alain de Botton talks about the frustration of learning new information that doesn’t connect to anything you already know—like the sorts of facts you might pick up…
on “Arabic document from 17th-cent. rubbish heap confirms semi-legendary Nubian king” ↗…to understand what they say they want is not what they really want, you also have to come up with a plan for executing your solution in a corporate environment. There is a reason that books like "the staff engineer's path" cover topics such as local maximums, communication, establishing support for executing a plan or creating alignment on big efforts. In large corporate environments with multiple international customers,…
on “"Code was never the hard part" is an insult to all programmers” ↗