I'm seeing startups value a different kind of engineer now. The “10x engineer“ is less important than a new flavor we're now helping clients hire for.
Meet the Product Engineer. They're a scrappy, get-stuff-done type that combines high technical acumen with high business sense.
They don't need a pixel-perfect PRD written out for them in order to start building. A rough idea of the business objective is enough.
They check in with stakeholders and even customers along the way to validate why they're building what they're building. They treat the engineering process as an iterative and collaborative journey.
They act as their own product manager. Missing details and shifting hypotheses aren't blockers -- they're exciting puzzles to figure out.
Above all, they understand the “why“ behind what they're doing. The impact they're making is clear to them, and their energy is channeled towards creating momentum.
In an early-stage organization, pure technical acumen isn't enough when companies are trying to move fast but also stay lean. A team that's business-minded and in sync about what they're building and why they're building is what outperforms in today's startup environment.
We've found that very few engineers hit this early stage product engineer bar -- but they're out there, and enough of them in an organization can be game-changing for your product development velocity.
Meet the Product Engineer. They're a scrappy, get-stuff-done type that combines high technical acumen with high business sense.
They don't need a pixel-perfect PRD written out for them in order to start building. A rough idea of the business objective is enough.
They check in with stakeholders and even customers along the way to validate why they're building what they're building. They treat the engineering process as an iterative and collaborative journey.
They act as their own product manager. Missing details and shifting hypotheses aren't blockers -- they're exciting puzzles to figure out.
Above all, they understand the “why“ behind what they're doing. The impact they're making is clear to them, and their energy is channeled towards creating momentum.
In an early-stage organization, pure technical acumen isn't enough when companies are trying to move fast but also stay lean. A team that's business-minded and in sync about what they're building and why they're building is what outperforms in today's startup environment.
We've found that very few engineers hit this early stage product engineer bar -- but they're out there, and enough of them in an organization can be game-changing for your product development velocity.
