Scaling out and hiring your first full-time engineering manager

Problem Definition

As engineering teams grow, the head of engineering or CTO often becomes overwhelmed with day-to-day management tasks, limiting their ability to focus on high-level strategy and vision. This creates a need for dedicated engineering management to ensure team productivity, growth, and satisfaction.

Solution Overview

Hire a full-time engineering manager to oversee daily operations, team development, and project execution, maintaining an optimal ratio of one manager for every 6-8 individual contributors (see below on supporting data for this ratio). Establish a clear working relationship between the new manager and the head of engineering, ensuring alignment on goals, expectations, and success metrics.

Benefits

  • Frees up the head of engineering to focus on strategic initiatives
  • Improves team productivity and satisfaction through dedicated management
  • Enhances career development opportunities for team members
  • Provides a scalable management structure for future growth
  • Allows for more focused and effective people management

Applicability

This solution is most effective in:

  • Growing startups transitioning from founder-led engineering
  • Organizations where the head of engineering is becoming overwhelmed with management tasks
  • Companies looking to improve team performance and satisfaction
  • Environments preparing for rapid scaling of engineering resources

Implementation Guide

  1. Determine the right time to hire:

    • When the engineering team reaches 8-12 members
    • When the head of engineering spends more than 50% of their time on management tasks
    • When team members express a need for more hands-on guidance and support
    • Why: Timing is crucial to ensure the role adds value without prematurely increasing overhead.

  2. Define the role and responsibilities:

    • Day-to-day team management and performance oversight
    • Project planning and execution
    • Team member growth and development
    • Process improvement and implementation
    • Collaboration with product and other departments
    • Why: Clear expectations prevent role confusion and ensure the EM's efforts align with organizational needs.

  3. Establish clear success metrics:

    • Team retention rate (target: >90% annual retention)
    • Employee satisfaction scores (target: >4.0/5.0 in engagement surveys)
    • Project delivery performance (e.g., 85% of projects delivered on time)
    • Team velocity and productivity metrics (e.g., 20% improvement in story points delivered per sprint)
    • Quality metrics (e.g., reduction in bug rate by 30%)
    • Hiring and onboarding efficiency (e.g., reducing time-to-productivity for new hires by 25%)
    • Why: Quantifiable goals provide direction and allow for objective performance evaluation

  4. Create a collaborative framework with the head of engineering:

    • Weekly 1:1 meetings for alignment and problem-solving
    • Monthly strategy sessions to ensure team goals align with company vision
    • Quarterly reviews of team performance and strategic initiatives
    • Clear division of responsibilities:
      • Head of Engineering: Technical vision, architecture decisions, cross-functional strategy
      • Engineering Manager: Team performance, project execution, people development
    • Why: A well-defined working relationship prevents power struggles and ensures strategic alignment.

  5. Implement a transition plan:

    • Gradual handover of responsibilities over 1-3 months
    • Joint team meetings initially, transitioning to engineering manager-led meetings
    • Introduce the engineering manager to key stakeholders across the organization
    • Why: A smooth handover maintains team stability and sets the new EM up for success.

  6. Establish communication channels:

    • Regular team meetings led by the engineering manager
    • Open-door policy for team members to approach either the manager or head of engineering
    • Clear escalation paths for technical and personnel issues
    • Why: Clear lines of communication foster transparency and quick problem resolution.

  7. Set up reporting and feedback mechanisms:

    • Weekly status reports from the engineering manager to the head of engineering
    • Monthly performance dashboards tracking key metrics
    • Quarterly 360-degree feedback for the engineering manager
    • Why: Regular check-ins and data-driven insights enable continuous improvement and accountability.

  8. Provide resources and support:

    • Management training and development opportunities
    • Budget for team-building and professional development initiatives
    • Access to necessary tools and platforms for team management
    • Why: Equipping the EM with necessary tools and development opportunities maximizes their effectiveness.

Academic Research into the Manager to Individual Contributor Ratio

  1. Span of Control Theory
    • Researcher: V.A. Graicunas (1933)
    • Key finding: As team size increases, the number of potential interactions grows exponentially, making management more complex.
    • Relevance: Supports keeping team sizes manageable, typically under 10.
  2. The Mythical Man-Month
    • Author: Frederick Brooks (1975)
    • Key concept: Brooks' Law states that "adding manpower to a late software project makes it later."
    • Implication: Smaller, well-managed teams are often more effective than larger ones.

Industry Studies and Reports

  1. Google's Project Oxygen
    • Source: Google's People Analytics team (2008)
    • Finding: Effective managers typically have 7-10 direct reports.
    • Note: This aligns closely with the suggested 6-8 range.
  2. The Scrum Guide
    • Authors: Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland
    • Recommendation: Scrum teams should be 3-9 developers, plus Scrum Master and Product Owner.
    • Relevance: Supports the idea of small, manageable team sizes in agile environments.
  3. LinkedIn Engineering Management Study
    • Source: LinkedIn Engineering Blog (2015)
    • Finding: Most engineering managers at LinkedIn have 5-10 direct reports.
  4. Gallup's Span of Control Research
    • Source: Gallup Organization
    • Finding: The optimal range for employee engagement is 5-9 direct reports per manager.

Expert Opinions

  1. "An Elegant Puzzle: Systems of Engineering Management"
    • Author: Will Larson (2019)
    • Recommendation: Suggests a ratio of 1 manager to 6-8 engineers for optimal team dynamics.
  2. "High Output Management"
    • Author: Andrew Grove, former CEO of Intel
    • Suggestion: Recommends 6-8 direct reports as an ideal number for most managers.

Considerations

  • Team composition, project complexity, and organizational structure can influence the optimal ratio.
  • As companies scale, they may need to adjust these ratios to balance efficiency and overhead.
  • The trend towards flatter organizational structures in tech companies often results in slightly larger team sizes.

Conclusion

While research and industry practices suggest a range of 5-10 direct reports per manager, the 6-8 range appears to be a sweet spot that balances managerial attention with team autonomy and scalability in engineering environments.

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