StaffEng

Today we have a great guest to talk about his transition to, and current role as, a staff engineer: Mike McQuaid from GitHub! Mike is also a project leader at Homebrew, and brings a wealth of expertise and experience to the table, as well as the obvious added perspective that any engineer from the GitHub team would have. In our conversation, we get into a bit of Mike's journey up until now, the period of stepping up into the position of staff engineer, and how his time spent with open-source projects has influenced his other work. Mike gives us a good rundown of the different levels of leadership that exist at GitHub as well as painting a picture of the way he prefers to oversee engineers and projects. We talk about the healthiest ways to prioritize and tackle work and get into the sometimes murky waters of impact and value measurement. We ask Mike about what it is like working at GitHub where the people building things are also the ones using them, before discussing some thoughts on mentoring and sponsoring, OKRs, and the resources that have been most useful to Mike along the way. Tune in with us today to hear it all! LinksMike McQuaidGitHubHomebrew

A promotion might be a climb up the ladder but, in actual fact, it’s a step in many directions. Today, we speak with staff plus engineer Sarah Dayan, about the many nuances of her current role at Algolia, both subtle and overt. In this episode, we find out what it takes to lead teams, advocate up and down within your organization, and why relationships are of utmost importance. Getting into the swing of things, we ask Sarah to tell us more about her background before she elaborates on the role of a staff engineer. She informs listeners that her role isn’t necessarily dependent on technical whizz and skill, but rather how she creates impact and implements beneficial change. Digging deeper, Sarah shares how she honed her skills as a staff-plus engineer and the need to add value in several ways; not just coding. For context, Sarah describes her role at Algolia, and you’ll find out how she tackles project direction and alignment, her approach to difficult conversations, and techniques for advocating up and down the company.LinksSarah DayanSarah Dayan on TwitterAlgoliaSeanwes Podcast