The Tech Lead Partnership

This video explains the essential partnership between an engineering manager and a tech lead in high-performing engineering teams. It emphasizes how effective delegation, complementary strengths, and role clarity between the two can drive both team productivity and individual growth.

• Strong engineering managers have a “partner in crime” tech lead: Effective managers often work alongside tech leads who handle the majority of technical responsibilities, allowing the manager to focus on team support, operations, and growth.
• Clear level pairing by role: At Facebook, there’s often a leveling alignment—e.g., M0 managers paired with L5 (senior) engineers, M1s with staff (L6), and M2s with senior staff (L7)—ensuring balanced responsibility and decision-making.
• EMs stay hands-off but connected: Engineering managers are expected to stay informed on technical topics but are not expected to be hands-on with code or architecture decisions.
• Tech leads drive technical execution: Responsibilities like leading engineering meetings, driving design reviews, setting development processes, and ensuring engineering culture are primarily handled by the tech lead.
• Shared mentorship responsibility: While managers typically mentor through one-on-ones, tech leads also provide mentorship, especially for junior and mid-level engineers. This dual support system ensures continuity and growth even when the manager is unavailable.