One Tech Lead Journey, Two Paths: Engineering Management and Architecture.

Photo by Ian Taylor on Unsplash

When I stepped into my first Tech Lead role, I didn’t realize I was standing at a fork in the road. Like many senior engineers, I eventually saw two natural paths emerge: Engineering Management and Architecture.

What’s intriguing is that I didn’t just choose one. I walked both paths — first as an Engineering Manager, then as an Architect Manager. This experience fundamentally reshaped my perspective on product development, scale, and long-term impact.

Choosing Engineering Management First

My first transition led me into Engineering Management, within an Agile and SAFe Agile environment. Here, the Engineering Manager operates largely post-discovery, adhering to Lean-Agile leadership principles:

• The problem is defined, scope is known, and architectural direction is often set.
• The focus is on execution excellence through Continuous Delivery Pipeline practices.

I managed five teams, structured as:

• 1 Tech Lead
• 1 Dev Lead
• 4 Individual Contributors

Leading ~30 engineers, my role became 60% people, 40% technology, emphasizing:

• Coaching Tech Leads and Dev Leads
• Removing delivery blockers using DevOps principles
• Ensuring sprint predictability and team health
• Translating business expectations into executable plans

My influence was through guiding others, fostering an environment of continuous learning and improvement.

How Architecture Changed the Game

Transitioning to an Architect Manager marked a significant shift. Architects engage at the very beginning, applying SAFe’s emphasis on systems thinking and portfolio-level strategy:

• Influencing eight teams, and engaging deeply in the continuous exploration phase.
• Transcending from execution to system ownership, ensuring built-in quality.

Architecture focuses on making sure the right thing is being built, incorporating cross-system alignment and anticipating technical debt, ensuring agile architecture aligns with team capabilities.

Fundamental Differences in Roles

Engineering Manager

• Operates post-discovery.
• Focuses on delivery, execution, and code-level guidance.
• Coaches teams to foster creativity under lean principles, maintaining velocity and quality.
• Deeply people-centric, aligning teams with SAFe principles.

Application Architect

• Engages at discovery’s inception.
• Owns high-level system design.
• Ensures cross-team and cross-system alignment.
• Reviews changes impact across systems, facilitating agile responses.
• Partners with Engineering Managers on coding standards and practices.
• Systems-oriented thinking reinforces long-term scalability.

Both roles are critical, addressing unique challenges and strengthening organizational capabilities.

Why Architecture Resonated More With Me

Ultimately, architecture’s leverage and timing drew me:

• Influence decisions before momentum locks in.
• Prevent costly rewrites, guiding platforms and systems rather than features.
• Applying lessons from Lean-Agile to shape platforms.
• Thinking in years, supporting sustainable development and innovation.

Architecture allowed application of leadership where it impacts most, embodying the principle of agile transformation.

Walking Both Paths Made Me Better

My dual experience doesn’t pose one role against the other. As an Engineering Manager, I became a better Architect:

• Designing feasible systems
• Respecting execution constraints
• Understanding delivery pressures within Lean-Agile scope

As an Architect, I gained respect for great Engineering Managers, whose roles I now recognize as complementary.

For current Tech Leads standing at this crossroads: Deliberate carefully. Embark on one path deeply; it enriches understanding and application across others.

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