April 15, 2026
7 minutes
Key takeaways:
- Directors of engineering are the glue between strategy and execution, translating organizational vision into tactical work while keeping one eye on the long-term.
- Your success depends on your managers.
- Influence is the job: without champions inside and outside engineering, even the best ideas can stall.
Being a director of engineering means juggling business impact, influence, and engineering manager growth.
During a recent skip level with a senior engineer, I received the question, “what does your day to day actually look like?” As a director, my role is somewhat nebulous to the individual contributors (ICs) in my organization.
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April 15, 2026
