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Tech Org Seeks Discipline

Software Engineer
Current Employee
Has worked at The New York Times for 1 year
May 10, 2019
New York, New York
4.0
RecommendsPositive OutlookApproves of CEO
Pros

The mission.

Tech-wise, it can sometimes feel start-up-like. New projects are cloud-first (GCP) and most teams have moved to agile. There is room for new ways of doing work and rethinking old approaches.

It's a decently large tech org with a depth of experience.

There are lots of opportunities for growth and a strong focus on learning.

There's a strong architecture review board.

There is a push for more regularization in languages, systems, and production quality.

There are some excellent managers in the organization who are committed to their employees' careers and growth.

Diversity initiatives appear to be having some effect in the tech organization.

Cons
  • Feels enterprise-y in a lot of ways: culture-wise, a lot of the tech staff don't live in the City, and many teams are incredibly siloed from each other. Project-wise, things can move slowly, and old projects live forever.

  • There's a lack of cohesiveness in the org. While engineering has started to move to a product model, Product & PM are still catching up. Some teams lack development discipline. Communication between teams can feel like pulling teeth.

  • Some parts of the tech org are understaffed.

  • Diversity continues to be a problem in the tech organization.

  • The relationship between the business and the newsroom is still weird.

Advice to Management

Continue to konmari internal systems.

Shore up developer processes for consistency and help remove silos between tech teams.

Improve HR hiring speed and agility.

Focus on building an inclusive work environment and recruiting under-represented talent. Push for more transparency in this area.

Hire with an eye for soft skills (e.g., communication, empathy, self-reflection) as well as hard skills.

Drive additional collaboration between the newsroom and the tech org.

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