AI-powered
podcast player
Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features
StaffEng
Amy Unger (GitHub)
Jun 1, 2021
Amy Unger from GitHub discusses her transition from academic programming to for-profit tech, the differences between tech lead and deep diver roles, trade-offs in engineering projects, and the importance of value and service ethic in developer tooling. She shares insights on managing rushed feature requests, navigating product failings, mentoring, balancing coding with non-coding work, and learning from peers in a male-dominated environment.
36:03
AI Summary
AI Chapters
Episode notes
Podcast summary created with Snipd AI
Quick takeaways
- Staff engineers roles vary across organizations, from tech leads to deep divers focusing on specific expertise areas.
- Balancing organizational and project-specific responsibilities is crucial for staff engineers at GitHub, emphasizing aligning tasks with departmental goals and fostering mentorship.
Deep dives
Role of Staff Engineers at GitHub
There is no standard set of expectations for staff engineers at GitHub, varying across each organization. Common patterns include roles similar to tech leads and deep divers, focusing on specific expertise areas like git systems. The tech lead archetype is a frequent role at GitHub, emphasizing clear wins and immediate value delivery, whereas deep divers tackle larger problems over more extended periods.
Get the Snipd
podcast app
Unlock the knowledge in podcasts with the podcast player of the future.
AI-powered
Discover
highlights
Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode
Save any
moment
Hear something you like? Tap your headphones to save it with AI-generated key takeaways
Share
& Export
Send highlights to Twitter, WhatsApp or export them to Notion, Readwise & more
AI-powered
podcast player
Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features
Discover
highlights
Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode