Breaking the glass ceiling

This post is the first in a series expanding on the conference talks I have given this year about the path to Staff Engineer and beyond. These talks have resonated with a lot of people who feel stuck between senior engineering and management, unsure of what comes next. Over the next few posts, I will break down what Staff means, how to grow into it, and how to lead without giving up the craft.

Check out the rest of this series:

If you have been around long enough as an engineer, you have probably felt it: that invisible ceiling. You start as an engineer, move to senior engineer, and then what? The org chart points one way: management.

For some, that is a great path. Management is a real career, with its own skills and rewards. What the org chart leaves out is that being a manager is a completely different job.

When I first stepped into a Tech Lead Manager role, I thought I would pick up the management side easily. It turns out to be its own skill. Some engineers thrive in it; others discover that it is not for them. Plenty of brilliant engineers get pushed into management simply because they want to “advance”, even when managing people was never their goal.

The result is often burnout or frustration, and sometimes great technical talent is lost to roles people never really wanted in the first place.

That is where the Staff Engineer role comes in.

What Staff Engineer Really Means

At its core, Staff Engineer is not “Senior Engineer, but more senior.” It is a shift in scope and impact.

Senior engineers deliver projects. Staff engineers shape direction.

  • Seniors think about the sprint. Staff think about the next year.
  • Seniors solve problems. Staff find the problems worth solving.
  • Seniors optimize their team’s velocity. Staff shape systems so multiple teams can move faster.

And crucially, Staff Engineers do all of this without authority. You are not someone’s boss. You do not run performance reviews. But you still need to move the organization forward.

That is why Staff Engineer exists as a parallel track. Calling it a consolation prize misses the point: technical leadership is real leadership.

Leadership tracks

Staff vs Manager: Parallel Paths

Here is how I think about it.

  • Managers lead through people. They are accountable for hiring, performance, the shape of the organization, and the health of their teams.
  • Staff Engineers lead through systems. Their work combines architecture and technical direction with influence and a long-term view.

Both roles rely on trusted communication and credible leadership, but they operate differently.

At mature organizations, these two tracks are peers. Staff is a destination in its own right rather than a stepping stone to management.

Not every company has caught up to this idea. Some still treat management as the only “real” path to leadership. But that is changing, and we as a community need to keep pushing for that recognition.

Because the truth is simple: you can be a leader without managing people. Staff Engineer is proof of that.

The Takeaway

If you are staring at that ceiling and wondering if management is the only way up, it is not. There is another path. And if what you care about is shaping systems, influencing technical direction, and multiplying the impact of everyone around you, then Staff Engineer might be exactly where you belong.

Next time, I will dig into the biggest mindset shift you need to make if you want to get there: moving from being a problem solver to becoming a problem finder.

This post is adapted from my talk, “The Path to Staff Engineer and Beyond”, delivered at PSU Mac Admins 2025 and MacDevOps YVR 2025. It is part of a series exploring the journey from senior engineer to staff and beyond.