Principal engineers at Honeycomb need to balance authority in their domain with collaboration and company-wide influence.
Understanding and navigating organizational politics is crucial for engineering leaders to effectively manage team dynamics and projects.
Deep dives
Balancing Autonomy and Collaboration as a Principal Engineer at Honeycomb
As a principal engineer at Honeycomb, the role carries the expectation of being an authority in your domain while also collaborating with others. This balance involves having autonomy in your work but also being available to answer questions and provide guidance. The uniqueness of the position lies in the wide impact it has across different departments, with a focus on company-wide contributions and influence.
Navigating Organizational Politics and Change in Engineering Leadership Roles
In engineering leadership roles, understanding and navigating organizational politics becomes increasingly important. The speaker highlights the impact of leadership changes, such as new C-level hires, on power dynamics within the company. Adapting to organizational transitions and being aware of power structures are crucial aspects of effectively managing team dynamics and projects.
Promoting Security Knowledge Through Mentorship and Training Initiatives
Creating a culture of security awareness involves approaches like organizing game days to teach practical skills and identify potential vulnerabilities. By engaging in mentorship activities, such as providing career guidance and technical support, the speaker emphasizes the importance of holding space for mentees to ask questions and learn from real-world scenarios. Open communication and approachability are key factors in fostering a collaborative and knowledgeable security culture within the organization.
Today we are joined by the inspiring Jam Leomi, who is currently the Lead Security Engineer at Honeycomb. Jam has worked in tech for over ten years, holding positions in both operations and security, and we get to hear about some important milestones in their journey thus far. Jam gives us some great insight into how things work for engineers at Honeycomb, talking about expectations and priorities, and the way they currently split their time between different parts of the job. We also discuss OKRs, communication practices, and how Jam aligns personal goals and values with those of an organization. Listeners get to hear about measuring the success of security practices, strategies for effective rollout, and the task of navigating organizational politics. To finish off this great episode, Jam shares some of the things that have influenced them along the way, from books and blog posts to colleagues and mentors. Make sure to listen in with us on the StaffEng podcast today!