March 31, 2026
Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
Key takeaways:
- It’s not tech vs. leadership – it’s both. Distinguished engineers are “IC executives” who shape direction, not just code,
- Impact comes from systems, not heroics: the real job is designing organizational systems so great engineering outcomes happen by default.
- Influence > authority in a self-defined role.
The path to becoming a distinguished engineer is rarely a straight line. I’ve spent years swinging back and forth on the engineer-manager pendulum.
Deeply technical work brings me immense joy, that’s just where my heart lies, but leadership roles build valuable skills you can’t get any other way.
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March 31, 2026
