Diary of an Engineering Manager: Managing engineers more experienced than you

Managing engineers with more industry experience can be intimidating, especially when they are experts in technologies you barely know. The key is to stop competing and accept your technical knowledge as sufficient to facilitate discussions and support your team effectively.

Your role as a manager is not to be the top technical expert but to complement your engineers’ skills. Focus on problem framing, project breakdown, estimation, and stakeholder communication to add value beyond pure technical work.

Highly experienced engineers also have growth areas, such as giving feedback or mentoring others. Identify these gaps and support their development through coaching, recommending courses, or connecting them with mentors to help them improve.

The common advice to 'hire smart people and get out of their way' requires nuance. Total hands-off management can lead to misaligned efforts or wasted resources. Instead, maintain involvement to clarify expectations and ensure alignment without micromanaging.

Set your engineers up for success by providing clear expectations early on, such as documenting major decisions and defining communication protocols. Regular check-ins help monitor progress, unblock issues, and provide timely feedback to keep projects on track.

Being present during critical moments, like incident responses, can boost your engineers’ confidence and performance. Your support in such situations helps reduce stress and enables them to execute effectively under pressure.

Don’t shy away from giving feedback to experienced engineers. Avoiding it can let small issues grow and create tension. Observe areas for improvement, even if infrequent, and frame feedback around the broader impact on the team and project quality.

Balance constructive feedback with praise. Recognize and reinforce high standards and positive behaviors to motivate your engineers. This approach encourages continuous growth and strengthens team morale.

Managing senior engineers requires a different approach than managing juniors. Your involvement may be less frequent but remains essential. Focus on creating clarity, offering support, and helping them amplify their impact to elevate the entire team.

Ultimately, managing engineers more experienced than you is about partnership, not competition. By embracing your role as a facilitator and coach, you empower your team to excel and foster a collaborative environment where everyone can grow.