Engineering Manager Course

Lesson 1 • Core Responsibilities and Scope

Defines the primary accountabilities of an EM across people, delivery, and culture. Anchors the full course in concrete job expectations.

Lesson 2 • Success Metrics for Engineering Managers

Identifies how EM performance is measured at team and organizational levels. Gives learners a benchmark to self-assess throughout the course.

Lesson 3 • From Engineer to Manager Transition

Examines the identity shift from individual contributor to people leader. Sets the foundation for all subsequent role-based learning.

Lesson 1 • Candidate Experience and Sourcing

Addresses proactive sourcing strategies and a positive candidate journey. Connects employer brand to hiring outcomes.

Lesson 2 • Structured Interview Design

Covers building consistent, bias-resistant interview loops for engineering roles. Ensures fair evaluation across all candidates.

Lesson 3 • Effective Onboarding Programs

Designs structured onboarding that accelerates new-hire productivity and belonging. Reduces early attrition covered in the people management chapter.

Lesson 1 • Running High-Impact One-on-Ones

Establishes a repeatable 1:1 framework that builds trust and surfaces blockers early. Forms the backbone of ongoing people management.

Lesson 2 • Career Development and Growth Plans

Guides managers in co-creating individualized growth plans aligned to business needs. Reduces attrition by connecting work to long-term goals.

Lesson 3 • Managing Underperformance

Provides a structured approach to diagnosing and addressing performance gaps. Prepares managers for difficult conversations before they escalate.

Lesson 4 • Retaining Top Engineering Talent

Identifies the key drivers of engineer retention and practical interventions. Connects people investment to team stability and delivery capacity.

Lesson 1 • Planning and Estimation Fundamentals

Covers iterative planning techniques and estimation approaches suited to engineering teams. Builds the foundation for sprint and roadmap execution.

Lesson 2 • Delivery Metrics and Continuous Improvement

Introduces DORA and flow metrics to diagnose and improve delivery performance. Closes the execution loop with data-driven retrospectives.

Lesson 3 • Risk Identification and Mitigation

Builds skills to surface, assess, and respond to delivery risks proactively. Reduces surprises that undermine team credibility.

Lesson 4 • Prioritization and Trade-off Decisions

Teaches frameworks for ranking work when resources are constrained. Enables managers to align delivery with business value.

Lesson 1 • Partnering with Staff and Principal Engineers

Clarifies the EM and staff engineer partnership model for technical leadership. Avoids role confusion that slows architectural decisions.

Lesson 2 • Managing Technical Debt Strategically

Frames technical debt as a business risk requiring active management. Connects debt decisions to delivery capacity and system reliability.

Lesson 3 • Staying Technically Credible as a Manager

Defines the level of technical depth an EM needs to lead effectively. Prevents over-involvement while maintaining engineering respect.

Lesson 1 • Working with Design and UX Teams

Covers how engineering managers integrate design into the development process. Reduces handoff friction and improves product quality.

Lesson 2 • Partnering with Product Management

Defines the EM-PM relationship and shared accountability for outcomes. Establishes healthy collaboration patterns used throughout the course.

Lesson 3 • Conflict Resolution Across Teams

Provides structured approaches to diagnosing and resolving cross-functional conflicts. Prevents escalation that damages team relationships.

Lesson 4 • Running Effective Cross-Functional Meetings

Builds skills to design and facilitate meetings that produce decisions, not just discussion. Directly improves collaboration efficiency.

Lesson 1 • Managing Team Dynamics and Conflict

Addresses interpersonal friction and team dysfunction patterns within the team. Builds on psychological safety to maintain healthy group dynamics.

Lesson 2 • Psychological Safety Foundations

Defines psychological safety and its measurable impact on team performance. Provides the cultural baseline for all team health practices.

Lesson 3 • Fostering Inclusion and Belonging

Covers inclusive practices that ensure all engineers can contribute fully. Connects belonging to retention and innovation outcomes.

Lesson 1 • Building Your Personal Leadership Brand

Guides managers in articulating and demonstrating their leadership philosophy. Prepares graduates for senior EM and director-level advancement.

Lesson 2 • Managing Organizational Change

Equips managers to lead their teams through restructuring, pivots, and uncertainty. Applies influence skills to change management at scale.

Lesson 3 • Connecting Engineering to Business Strategy

Teaches how to translate company strategy into engineering priorities and roadmaps. Elevates the EM from executor to strategic partner.

Lesson 4 • Developing Future Engineering Leaders

Builds a systematic approach to identifying and growing the next generation of EMs. Extends people development skills to organizational succession.