The Peterman Pod Airbnb Staff Eng on How To Not Get Stuck at Senior and Untold Rules of Calibrations
52 snips
Jan 19, 2026 
Laurent Charignon, a Staff Engineer and engineering manager with a rich background at Stripe, Airbnb, and Instagram, explores the intricate world of management. He shares untold rules of calibrations and the subtle nuances of transitioning from individual contributor to manager. Laurent offers insight on overcoming bureaucracy and emphasizes the importance of clear career goals. He also discusses mentorship, coaching pitfalls, and the unique challenges of promoting from Senior to Staff engineer, making this conversation a treasure trove for aspiring tech leaders.
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Pitching Into Management
- Laurent pitched to become the manager of his test infrastructure team and his manager agreed.
- He started with two reports and quickly took over the whole team to focus on growing junior engineers.
Be Explicit With Your Manager
- Align your career goals explicitly with your manager instead of being passive.
- Use regular conversations to remove surprises before performance reviews.
Untold Rules Of Calibration
- Calibration rules are often local, implicit, and evolve over time.
- Managers must understand and sometimes dispute these untold rules to keep the process fair.
