Latest
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Need-to-know tactics for managing up successfully
Managing up can be difficult – even more so when you have a distant leader. Here’s how to make the best out of the situation.
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How to push back when execs are all-in on AI
When AI is seemingly everywhere, how can you make sure your org takes thoughtful steps?
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Who is going to fill the engineering leadership vacuum?
As the tech industry continues its assault on middle management, staff engineers are being asked to step up.
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A smarter way to evaluate LLM applications
LLM evaluations are the ultimate quality gate for your product.
Editor’s picks
What is a staff engineer? Technical leaders who aren’t managers
Staff engineers are technical leaders who have deep domain knowledge, walking the line between tech and the business.
Prices for all New York conferences increase on Monday, August 25 ⏰
Essential reading
Who are staff, principal, and distinguished engineers?
Understand the differences between staff, principal, and distinguished engineers. Job description and salaries included.
On our StaffPlus playlist
How to master the four Staff archetypes and elevate your impact
While the specifics of the job can vary widely, Will Larson has famously categorized the Staff+ experience into four archetypes: Tech Lead, Architect, Solver, and the Right Hand.
Understanding the role as a Staff engineer
How to define, develop and deliver in your role on the technical track.
How to balance technical direction and leadership work
But as is often the case in business, priorities constantly shift and where you focus your efforts will too. So how do you strike the right balance between working on the technical direction of the business and those tasks that require you to put your leadership hat on?
Start with an exit in mind: How to be effective by being selfish as a staff engineer
Staff engineers often get overwhelmed by long-term ownership of critical projects. This talk explores how to avoid burnout by starting every project with an exit strategy—whether transferring ownership, pausing or bootstrapping a team.
Agendas for New York events are live!
Lineup includes Addy Osmani, Kevin Goldsmith, Robin Bonatesta, and more…
New York • October 15 & 16, 2025
More for Staff engineers
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The best feature management and experimentation software 2025
Feature flags and experimentation are critical for progressive developer teams who want granular control over their feature delivery. But which tool is the right one for you?
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How to handle difficult conversations as a leader
Difficult conversations are never anyone’s favorite pastime. For many, it can be an anxiety-inducing trip…but it doesn’t have to be.
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Be careful with ‘open source’ AI
Open source AI models may be appealing for developers, but there are still plenty of complex risks to assess.
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Should the daily stand-up die?
Will the real agile developers please stand up? Please stand up. Please, stand up.
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The CrowdStrike disaster is a lesson about testing
What’s been dubbed the world’s biggest IT outage should be a wakeup call to the industry.
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Why Zig is one of the hottest programming languages to learn
A recent Stack Overflow survey revealed Zig is highly-admired and developers are highly-paid – but why?
Videos for Staff engineers
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Everything you always wanted to know about game engines
Learn how to leverage game engines like Unity and Unreal to accelerate innovation in AI, robotics, simulation, and beyond
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A quick tour of delivery management (and why it matters)
What senior leaders mean by “delivery management,” why it matters, and how to improve it with practical tools and techniques.
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From autocomplete to agents: AI coding assistance state of play
Everybody wants high reliability, but the path isn’t exactly clear. This talk is for people who need to know what works and what doesn’t.
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Y2K: The bug that didn’t bite
Unearthing the lessons of Y2K to avoid future coding catastrophes and build more sustainable software.
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How to zoom out (and when to stop)
A practical guide for engineers and new engineering leaders on expanding their scope effectively, recognizing when to change their perspective, and maintaining the right balance between strategic thinking and technical depth.
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Dressing to the 9s
Everybody wants high reliability, but the path isn’t exactly clear. This talk is for people who need to know what works and what doesn’t.
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Going all-in on data products
Explore how a development team fully embraced building a data product alongside their new operational product.
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Getting excited about maintaining legacy systems
Learn how maintaining legacy systems builds real-world skills in debugging, system thinking, and mentoring others effectively.
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Documentation and AI: How to write right now
Think AI can handle your documentation? Sometimes. This talk breaks down where it helps, where it doesn’t, and what still needs the human touch.
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A safe place to land: Practical (and hyper-scale tested) advice for technical decision-making while evolving systems in place
Practical strategies for evolving systems at hyperscale while balancing innovation, stability, and reliability – featuring real-world insights from Fastly.
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Accessibility needs better marketing
Web accessibility is seen as a chore, something to suffer through. This view ignores the needs of people with disabilities and diminishes their worth as humans and worthy customers. How do we change the process?
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Fast, informed, impactful: How to master decision-making
Master the art of efficient decision-making and turn slow, ineffective engineering decisions into a powerful competitive advantage.