Twilio

• 2 of the most tech-savvy, on-the-ball, market-aware, and inspiring Senior Engineering Managers I have ever worked with in my career.

• 2 of the most jaw-dropping, outstanding-in-all-areas, and straight-shooting Software Engineers I have ever worked with in my career.

• Incredible learning and social networking opportunities for interns and new grads.

• Networking and learning opportunities available through invited Tech Industry speakers.

Rare instances of extremely inexperienced Tech Leads moving into Line Management. Character insecurities translate into passing the buck for issues, while taking credit for successful design and code from others.

On-call production support duty for some of the legacy code stack has become a 'four-letter word' for those who are married and/or have children.

Drive to ship fast and frequently works best with experienced Tech Leads. Otherwise, major technical debt and production support risk is/has been incurred.

Test environment and product deployment processes and tools need cross-team accountability for any serious progress in reliability and usability.

Vet your potential leaders for character consistency. Adaptability applies for technical areas, but not for character. Nobody wants to work for an a-hole.

On company values: Watch the "Guardians of Ga'Hoole." Consider its message for your employees and their families.