In some respects, being a software engineer and being a software engineering leader could not be more different.
Software engineers, for instance, spend large amounts of their time in a no-distraction environment writing code. Their managers, on the other hand, spend their time ensuring that the environment for these engineers remains distraction-less.
“When moving into management, the way your time is allocated is often based on your team’s schedules as well as the schedules of others outside your organization,” Stefanie Kondik, the director of software engineering at Mason, said.
Yet, Kondik admits there is some overlap between the two roles. “In the software world, you need to know the technology if you want to be an effective leader,” she said. Her word of advice? “Start by leading projects and learning how to bring people together behind an idea.”
Below, Kondik elaborated on how she moved into a leadership role, what’s surprised her the most about the position, and what advice she has for aspiring leaders.
What Mason does: The company helps companies build and scale smart hardware products by providing the mobile infrastructure.
Give us a brief idea of your career trajectory at your current company. Where did you start, when did you get promoted into a leadership role and what did you do to get there?
I originally joined Mason as a principal engineer working on Mason’s device team, responsible for building system software that powers our hardware. Prior to Mason, my management experience includes leading an Android R&D team at Samsung, and then founding a startup called Cyanogen where I served as chief technology officer. After Cyanogen, I wanted to get back to the tech, so I spent a few years working as an independent contributor for Oculus and then Mason.
Mason has been steadily expanding thanks to solid growth, and our engineering team was growing the fastest — we now had multiple engineering groups. A director role needed to be created to manage all of the software teams. Nancy Xiao (president at Mason) actually approached me first about the role, knowing my past experience. The fit turned out to be great, as I’m able to use my technical skills together with management skills to set a clear vision for the team.
What surprised you most about your new leadership role?
The thing that surprised me the most is how quickly things change when you are part of a growing company! In a short time, I’ve had to move fast to promote a new engineering manager, off-board another manager, while also hiring heads of InfoSec and QA engineers. During the transitions, I also had to manage one team directly, then a different team (which I manage currently in addition to the managers). At a small company, the structure can quickly change for a variety of reasons that are out of your control, and you have to be able to adapt.
Another surprising element is the new level of time management and prioritization required. For example, engineers need long blocks of free time to work on features without distractions. One of your tasks as a manager will be to make sure this can happen and that you are stepping in front of issues that might derail your team members. When moving into management, the way your time is allocated is often based on your team’s schedules as well as the schedules of others outside your organization, so you’ll need to get used to working with a packed schedule. It will be up to you to learn to fit everything in while still getting your needed focus time.
I’m able to use my technical skills together with management skills to set a clear vision for the team.”
What advice do you have for engineers looking to move into a leadership role?
Managing teams is very different compared to engineering. However, there’s lots of overlap. In the software world, you need to know the technology if you want to be an effective leader. Start by leading projects and learning how to bring people together behind an idea. Find mentors at your company or elsewhere. This is to help you navigate the complexities of juggling both worlds and your new leadership responsibilities. Most importantly, go out of your way to teach people what you know. You will need to become skilled at mentoring new members on your team and sharing that deep technical knowledge you gained as an engineer.
As a manager, your biggest task is to enable your team to get work done in the best way possible. Stay focused on designing how the work gets done and trust your engineers to design the work itself.
