Engineering Manager
Managing engineering teams: people, processes, and delivery
Engineering Manager is a role in the Engineering Management family. It has 50 skills across 5 levels (from Junior to Principal). 105 skills are mandatory. Key domains: Programming Fundamentals, Backend Development, Database Management.
Technology Stack
Focus by Level
Managing a team of 5-8 engineers. 1-on-1s. Performance reviews. Hiring. Sprint planning. Removing blockers. Technical context.
Managing multiple teams. Building processes. Budgeting. Strategic planning. Developing tech leads.
Managing engineering department. Organizational design. Engineering culture. Hiring strategy. Board-level reporting.
Skill Matrix
50 skills × 5 levels. Click on a cell for details.
AI-Assisted Development
4 skills| Skills | Jun | Mid | Sen | Lead | Princ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GitHub Copilot | — | A | W | A | E |
| Cursor IDE | A | W | A | E | E |
| ChatGPT / Claude | A | W | A | E | E |
| Prompt Engineering for Code | A | W | A | E | E |
API & Integration
3 skills| Skills | Jun | Mid | Sen | Lead | Princ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| REST API Design | — | A | W | A | E |
| GraphQL Design | A | W | A | E | E |
| API Documentation | A | W | A | E | E |
Architecture & System Design
9 skills| Skills | Jun | Mid | Sen | Lead | Princ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| System Design Fundamentals | — | A | W | A | E |
| High Load Architecture | — | A | W | A | E |
| Capacity Planning | — | A | W | A | E |
| Disaster Recovery Design | — | A | W | A | E |
| Microservices Decomposition | — | A | W | A | E |
| Architecture Decision Records (ADR) | — | A | W | A | E |
| Technology Radar Practice | — | A | W | A | E |
| Architecture Fitness Functions | — | A | W | A | E |
| Technical Debt Management | — | A | W | A | E |
Backend Development
1 skills| Skills | Jun | Mid | Sen | Lead | Princ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Redis | A | W | A | E | E |
Cloud & Infrastructure
5 skills| Skills | Jun | Mid | Sen | Lead | Princ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Docker | — | A | W | A | E |
| Kubernetes Core | — | A | W | A | E |
| Terraform | — | A | W | A | E |
| AWS | — | A | W | A | E |
| Network Fundamentals | A | W | A | E | E |
Database Management
1 skills| Skills | Jun | Mid | Sen | Lead | Princ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PostgreSQL | A | W | A | E | E |
DevOps & CI/CD
2 skills| Skills | Jun | Mid | Sen | Lead | Princ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GitHub Actions / GitLab CI | — | A | W | A | E |
| Feature Flags | — | A | W | A | E |
Documentation
3 skills| Skills | Jun | Mid | Sen | Lead | Princ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Architecture Documentation: C4, arc42 | — | A | W | A | E |
| Runbook & Playbook Writing | — | A | W | A | E |
| Diagramming: Mermaid, PlantUML, D2 | — | A | W | A | E |
Observability & Monitoring
5 skills| Skills | Jun | Mid | Sen | Lead | Princ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Structured Logging | — | A | W | A | E |
| Prometheus & Grafana | — | A | W | A | E |
| OpenTelemetry | A | W | A | E | E |
| SLI / SLO / SLA | — | A | W | A | E |
| On-Call Management | — | A | W | A | E |
Programming Fundamentals
8 skills| Skills | Jun | Mid | Sen | Lead | Princ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Algorithms & Complexity | — | A | W | A | E |
| Data Structures | — | A | W | A | E |
| OOP & SOLID Principles | — | A | W | A | E |
| Design Patterns | — | A | W | A | E |
| Multithreading | A | W | A | E | E |
| Async Programming | A | W | A | E | E |
| Code Quality & Refactoring | — | A | W | A | E |
| Type Safety & Type Systems | A | W | A | E | E |
Security
3 skills| Skills | Jun | Mid | Sen | Lead | Princ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OWASP & Application Security | — | A | W | A | E |
| Secure Coding Practices | A | W | A | E | E |
| Secrets Management | — | A | W | A | E |
Testing & QA
2 skills| Skills | Jun | Mid | Sen | Lead | Princ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unit Testing | A | W | A | E | E |
| Integration Testing | A | W | A | E | E |
Version Control & Collaboration
4 skills| Skills | Jun | Mid | Sen | Lead | Princ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Git Advanced | — | A | W | A | E |
| Code Review | — | A | W | A | E |
| Documentation as Code | — | A | W | A | E |
| InnerSource Practices | — | A | W | A | E |
FAQ
What skills are needed for the Engineering Manager role?
The Engineering Manager role requires 50 skills, of which 105 are mandatory. Skills are distributed across 5 levels: from Junior to Principal. See full matrix.
How to advance to the next level in the Engineering Manager role?
Use the Grade Calculator to assess your current level and get personalized recommendations. The system will show which skills need to be developed for the next level.
What tech stack is used in the Engineering Manager role?
The stack includes 3 technologies at different levels. JIRA/Linear, Confluence, 1-on-1 frameworks, OKR/KPI, Scrum/Kanban, Technical background ╨▓ ╨╛╨┤╨╜╨╛╨╝ ╨╕╨╖ ╤Б╤В╨╡╨║╨╛╨▓, Strategic planning tools, Budgeting, DORA metrics, Team topologies, Hiring pipelines, Org design frameworks, Engineering metrics at scale, Organizational design, Technology strategy, Executive communication.
How does the community define requirements for the Engineering Manager role?
Role requirements are shaped by the community through a proposal system. Any member can suggest changes that go through voting and expert review.