Become a Modern Engineering Leader
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Mission
The goal of the Modern Engineering Leader newsletter is to share what I’ve learned as a CTO through over 8 years of experience as a tech executive. It’s something I wish someone had shared with me years ago. That would have certainly helped me avoid costly mistakes.
Having mentors is perhaps the most impactful factor that can accelerate your engineering career, which is especially important at the current age. Being just focused merely on “tech” doesn’t work anymore.
To thrive in 2025 and beyond, you cannot just stay in the technology lane. Of course, mastery of the software engineering aspect is a necessity. But in today’s reality, you must also expand your horizon in a few more directions. The pressure of the rapid advancements in AI, the tough market for developers, and at the same time, the end of the Zero Interest Rate Era created a significant challenge for most software engineers and their careers. But at the same, it’s an amazing opportunity for those who are willing to accept the reality, go the extra mile, and learn the critical skills of the modern engineer.
And this is what the Modern Engineering Leader newsletter is going to help you with!
Here are some things you can expect to learn:
Tech leadership
Leadership is a universal skill that will always significantly impact your career. And fortunately, this is a learnable skill. And you don’t need to have an explicit leadership position to be a leader. Leadership is about what you do and the mindset you have, not the title.
Staying closer to the Business and the Product
Being a Product Engineer who is not just a “doer” but someone who understands the business and can speak with customers is a superpower that has been growing in popularity in the last months. And for some very good reasons! It doesn’t mean that you need to become an expert in Product Management, but understanding what you build from the business perspective and knowing the customers of the Product you build makes a massive difference. And understanding practices and frameworks that are a bread and butter for Product Managers can help you big time.
Mastering management
While full-time management is not something everyone will enjoy, Individual Contributors will be expected to take more management responsibilities with more hybrid roles (like a Tech Leader for example, who also manages small teams of 3 to 5 engineers). And the thing is that most managers are not great at their job. However, avoiding common mistakes and focusing on the right things will take you far.
Making the most of the generative AI
While the current generation of LLMs is nowhere close to replacing software engineers, there is no doubt that they are already capable of making skilled engineers even more productive.
Productivity
If getting a productivity boost by 10% or 20% from AI sounds like a great opportunity, then “classic” productivity techniques should be equally well understood.
Remote work
While working in the office is perfectly fine if that’s your thing, it's essential to be aware of the opportunities, especially as a modern engineering leader, and the massive impact remote work can have on your personal life.
Personal branding, communication, and writing well
While this could be a surprising point, communication is an essential skill. And so is writing well. If you add personal branding to the equation, you will be able to thrive in the current market.
Contact
You can follow me on LinkedIn. If there is anything you would like to discuss, just drop me a message!
If you are interested in more hands-on content about architecture or Ruby on Rails/Ember, you can check my old technical blog.
