The Staff Engineer's Path

One way to keep a project moving is to have someone who feels ownership for the whole thing, rather than any of its individual parts. Even before the project kicks off, that person can scope out the work and build a proposal. Once the project is underway, they’re likely to be the author or coauthor of the high-level system design and a main point of contact for it. They maintain a high engineering standard, using their experience to anticipate risks and ask hard questions. They also spend time informally mentoring or coaching—or just setting a good example for—the leads of individual parts of the project. When the project gets stuck, they have enough perspective to track down the causes and unblock it (more on that in Chapter 6). Outside the project, they’re telling the story of what’s happening and why, selling the vision to the rest of the company, and explaining what the work will make possible and how the new project affects everyone.