Three Things Blocking Your Promotion to Staff/Principal Engineer (from an Amazon Principal Engineer)

Summary

In this video, a Principal Engineer at Amazon shares valuable lessons on how to fast-track your promotion to staff or principal engineer. He highlights key strategies such as ensuring your organization has the scope for a principal role, demonstrating cross-team impact, and having the right managerial support. The speaker emphasizes the importance of standing out as a top performer and actively managing your career path rather than waiting for luck. With practical advice on navigating the promotion process, this guide helps software engineers reach the next level faster and with more control.

Takeaways

• 😀 Not every organization has room for a principal engineer. Ensure your company has a need for the role before seeking promotion.
• 😀 It's crucial to have cross-team impact to get promoted to a principal or staff engineer, not just be a top performer on one team.
• 😀 Being critical to a project is not enough. You need to demonstrate outsized impact beyond the contributions of a typical senior engineer.
• 😀 Your manager's experience and commitment to your promotion are vital. They must have promoted engineers to principal or staff roles before.
• 😀 Reporting to a manager who manages multiple teams and has promoted staff engineers increases your chances of promotion.
• 😀 Avoid depending on someone else's departure or your team’s expansion for promotion opportunities. Take control of your career.
• 😀 When discussing your impact, focus on evidence of how much better you are than the average engineer, not just how things would have gone without you.
• 😀 Demonstrating engineering influence across several teams is essential for promotion to principal or staff engineer roles.
• 😀 It's essential that your manager is your strongest advocate. They should be pushing for your success and providing you with high-visibility opportunities.
• 😀 If your promotion is stalled despite strong performance, consider looking for a new team or company that can better support your growth.
• 😀 The promotion process is largely dependent on your manager's support, so seek a manager who will advocate for you and align with your goals.

Q & A

What is the primary focus of the speaker in this video?

The speaker shares lessons and advice on how to get promoted to the role of a Staff or Principal Engineer at Amazon, based on their personal experiences as a senior engineer.

What are the two key factors that determine if you can be promoted to a Principal Engineer?

The two key factors are: 1) The organization needs another Principal Engineer, and 2) Your manager must have the right scope and influence to support your promotion.

Why does the speaker say it's difficult to get promoted in certain organizations?

In some organizations, particularly smaller ones or teams with already sufficient leadership, there may be no immediate need for a Principal Engineer, making it hard to get promoted unless the team expands or someone leaves.

What does the speaker mean by 'wins above replacement' in the context of promotion?

The term 'wins above replacement' is used to emphasize that just being a critical contributor to a project is not enough to demonstrate your value. You need to show that your impact exceeds the contribution of an average engineer or that the project would have failed without you.

What is the difference between being a strong senior engineer and being ready for promotion to Principal Engineer?

Being a strong senior engineer is necessary but not sufficient for promotion. To be promoted to Principal Engineer, you must demonstrate impact across multiple teams and have influence beyond your own team.

How important is the role of your manager in your promotion to Principal Engineer?

Your manager plays a crucial role in your promotion. They need to have experience promoting others to Principal Engineer, manage more than one team, and be fully committed to advocating for your promotion.

Why should you aim to report to a manager with cross-team influence?

Reporting to a manager with cross-team influence ensures that your contributions are recognized across multiple teams, which is necessary for demonstrating the broad impact required for a promotion to Principal Engineer.

What should you do if your promotion is stalled despite strong performance?

If your promotion is stalled, you may need to consider finding a new manager who is more committed to your growth, or even look for opportunities in a different team or company that offers better support for your promotion.

What kind of projects should you seek to demonstrate your readiness for promotion?

You should seek projects that not only allow you to deliver high-quality work but also give you visibility across multiple teams, showcasing your ability to have an outsized impact beyond your own team.

What should you do if your organization does not currently need a Principal Engineer?

If your organization does not need a Principal Engineer and you're keen on advancing, consider moving to a team or company where there's a genuine need for this role, as it may be difficult to achieve a promotion in your current situation.