How can I identify high-impact projects as a senior SDE?

Question

I'm a Sr. SDE working remotely from a different city than the rest of my team, which makes it hard to build relationships through informal chats with colleagues or my manager.

With constant reorgs, I believe there are new opportunities emerging, but I struggle with identifying them, and choosing the right project scopes that are truly impactful.

Could you please provide advice on:

How to surface meaningful project ideas in a shifting org?
How to get better at defining a project scope that aligns with org priorities and has visibility?

I want to improve in these areas so that I can contribute more strategically and grow in my role. Thank you!

Gilad Naor · Accepted Answer

Talk to people.

Make it a career-long habit to talk to at least two new people every week. Talk to Product Managers, Designers, Customer Support, Finance, Marketing, Sales, even (gasp) Legal.

In each meeting, ask them what problem they're solving and what their biggest challenge is.

Every business is designed to solve some problem. As a Sr. SDE, you only get to see a thin slice of the Problem Space. By talking to diverse people in your company you will build a more complete picture of the Problem Space. You will be able to see bigger problems.

And when the time comes to tackle these bigger problems, you'll already have relationships with the right set of people to tackle large projects.

As a remote engineer, you are not as far behind as you may think. Most engineers don't even think about talking to the marketing team. And if they did, they are often in a different office or location, so it'll be a remote meeting anyways.

Good luck!

How can I identify high-impact projects as a senior SDE?

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