Speaker
Abstract
Many engineers reach a point where technical excellence alone isn’t enough to drive meaningful impact or advance their careers. Senior individual contributors must learn to influence without authority, build trust across teams, and navigate challenges like imposter syndrome to truly lead.
Drawing from my journey—starting as an engineer in small startups, gaining experience in the banking sector, building an engineering team from the ground up, and ultimately leading commerce architecture at Netflix—I’ll share real-world lessons on how I developed these critical skills.
In this talk, I will speak about how
- I built influence and trust as a senior IC
- Led cross-functional initiatives without formal authority
- Navigated transitions between IC and management roles
- Dealt with imposter syndrome to amplify my impact
Topics
QCon San Francisco 2025 is a three day conference for senior software engineers, architects and team leads. An international program committee of working engineers selects every session. Patterns and practices, not products and pitches.
From the same track
Tuesday 18 November
10:35 Ballroom A Session Engineering Leadership Lead Without a Ladder: How I Climbed Into Engineering Leadership Pauline Jepp Head of Engineering @TicketSwap Climbing into senior engineering leadership isn’t always a matter of following fixed rungs—it can be more like scaling a rugged, ever-shifting mountain. You know there might be a path somewhere on the south face but for some reason the North face has more appeal. 11:45 Pacific DEKJ Session Panel: The Path to Senior Engineering Leadership Pauline Jepp, Brad Grantham, Kasia Trapszo, Joe Cassavaugh This panel discussion provides aspiring and current engineering leaders with a clear roadmap for advancing into Senior Engineering Leadership roles. 13:35 Ballroom A Session Solopreneur A Solopreneur's Journey: From Engineer to Puzzle Master and Storyteller Joe Cassavaugh Creator of Clutter, Game Developer/Solopreneur - Previously @iWin, @WorldPlay Solopreneur & Sustainable Business don't often go together, but that's what can happen when you create something "Good Enough" and hang around "Long Enough". Joe, a true Unicorn in the volatile games business, has survived for 16+ years by creating 19 games in his Clutter Franchise. 14:45 Ballroom BC Session Staff Plus Engineering Beyond Coding: How Senior ICs Grow Influence and Drive Impact Kasia Trapszo Principal Engineer @Netflix, Leading Architecture for the Commerce Platform Many engineers reach a point where technical excellence alone isn’t enough to drive meaningful impact or advance their careers. Senior individual contributors must learn to influence without authority, build trust across teams, and navigate challenges like imposter syndrome to truly lead. 15:55 Ballroom A Session Technical Leadership Turning Outward: Growing From Code to Influence Brad Grantham Software Architect and Team Lead @LunarG - Responsible for Cross-Platform, GPU-Independent Graphics API Capture and Replay Technologies As individual contributors we sharpen our technical chops striving to improve our code and craft. But you may become aware you can do more, and could help others and the team. The path to make that shift isn’t always clear. 17:05 Seacliff D Unconference Unconference: The Path to Senior Engineering Leadership