[The Peterman Pod] Lessons from Philip Su on Career Growth, Leadership & Impact
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What does it take to build an exceptional career in software engineering and how does your definition of success change along the way?
In this course, Philip Su reflects on a career spanning Microsoft, Meta, and OpenAI, sharing candid lessons from rapidly climbing the engineering ladder, moving between individual contributor and management roles, building Meta’s London engineering office, and working alongside some of the industry’s most accomplished leaders and engineers.
Through stories of successes, mistakes, and personal trade-offs, Philip explores how engineers can increase their impact, develop better judgment, choose between specialization and breadth, and build careers that align with what they actually value.
- Growing from engineer to senior technical leader: What differentiates E7, E8, and E9 engineers, and how scope, judgment, influence, and leverage evolve with seniority.
- IC vs. management: How to choose between the two paths, transition between them, and develop the leadership skills required to make others more effective.
- Building high-performing engineering cultures: Lessons from launching and scaling Meta’s London engineering office and learning from exceptional leaders, mentors, and peers.
- Developing career superpowers: The value of writing, communication, continuous learning, technical breadth, specialization, and becoming a force multiplier for your team.
- Defining success on your own terms: Philip reflects on ambition, hard work, luck, career plateaus, personal sacrifice, and why understanding your values matters more than simply reaching the next level faster.
Ryan Peterman is a software engineer, educator, and content creator dedicated to helping engineers accelerate their careers through practical, experience-driven guidance. A former Staff Software Engineer at Instagram (Meta), Ryan is the founder and host of The Peterman Pod, where he interviews some of the world's leading software engineers to uncover the technical and career lessons behind their success. Through his newsletter, educational content, and long-form conversations, Ryan focuses on topics such as technical leadership, career growth, system design, and engineering impact, making mentorship and high-quality career advice accessible to engineers at every stage of their journey.
Philip Su is a software engineer and technology leader whose career has spanned Microsoft, Meta, and OpenAI. At Meta, Philip reached the Distinguished Engineer (E9) level and founded and led the company’s London engineering office, growing it from a small founding team into a major engineering site. He has worked extensively as both an individual contributor and engineering leader, giving him a unique perspective on technical excellence, organizational leadership, and career growth. Known for his thoughtful writing and candid reflections on his career, Philip shares practical lessons on engineering impact, management, communication, ambition, and building a meaningful career in technology.
Editor's Note: This course was created and curated by the Taro team. It is based on an interview originally conducted by Ryan Peterman with Philip Su on The Peterman Pod. With Ryan's permission, Taro edited, organized, and divided the conversation into lessons to make it easier to navigate and learn from. Ryan was not involved in creating this course and is not affiliated with or compensated by Taro for this content. We're grateful to Ryan for allowing us to share this interview with the Taro community.
Original podcast link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2JxdjTi_1I
