Career & Soft Skills
The senior-to-staff gap: what actually changes
Survey of 200 staff engineers: scope shifts from given to created, influence replaces authority, ambiguity tolerance is the core skill.
If leveling up is a goal, understanding the role is the first step to getting there.
AI is not replacing senior engineers — it's replacing junior ones
Analysis of hiring data from 500 tech companies shows junior engineer headcount down 34% YoY while senior roles grew 12%.
The skill ceiling is rising, not the floor. Staying senior means being the person who directs the AI, not competes with it.
How to run a technical design review that people actually find useful
A framework for design reviews from a Principal Engineer at Stripe: async RFC first, sync for tradeoffs only, explicit decisions logged.
Bad design reviews waste everyone's time. This framework makes them a force multiplier.
The art of the engineering estimation
Breaking down why estimates are always wrong and a practical 3-step method for giving ranges that are actually useful to stakeholders.
Every engineer underestimates. A structured approach protects your credibility and the team's planning.