# Filling the Stack: Five Things That Helped Me Transition From Frontend to Backend Development

DevFeed: [Filling the Stack: Five Things That Helped Me Transition From Frontend to Backend Development](<https://devfeed.tech/articles/filling-the-stack-five-things-that-helped-me-transition-from-frontend-to-backend-development-24574.md>)

Original publisher: [Read original article](<https://medium.com/headspace-engineering/filling-the-stack-five-things-that-helped-me-transition-from-frontend-to-backend-development-f9524b9548be?source=rss-3da90e297190------2>)

Author: Headspace

Published: 2021-03-30T18:57:45Z

Content type: tutorial

Language: en

Sources: [Stories by Headspace on Medium](<https://devfeed.tech/sources/stories-by-headspace-on-medium.md>)

Topics: [backend-development](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/backend-development.md>), [Front end](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/frontend.md>), [API](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/api.md>), [Development](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/development.md>), [React](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/react.md>), [Redux](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/redux.md>)

Tags: [api](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/api.md>), [backend-development](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/backend-development.md>), [development](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/development.md>), [facebook](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/facebook.md>), [frontend](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/frontend.md>), [instagram](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/instagram.md>), [linkedin](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/linkedin.md>), [react](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/react.md>), [redux](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/redux.md>)

## AI overview

A Headspace engineer shares five tips drawn from transitioning from frontend to backend/API engineering while working at the company. The article describes communicating career intentions, exploring internal opportunities, and building new skills on the job.

## Source excerpt

A few tips on how I added Backend/API engineer to my list of skills while on the job at Headspace. Author: Lee Richardson, Senior Software Engineer Intro I started my career at Headspace (1000 years ago, way back in 2019!) as a Web engineer. Our frontend stack is primarily React, Redux, Redux-Saga, Emotion and several internal libraries for shared functionality/UI components. The first big feature I worked on was a group meditation feature, which we designed to be compatible with live audio or video streams. We were excited to add a live, community-minded feature into the app experience. After several initial product iterations, we decided to focus on other community-minded features, and our squad no longer needed a Web engineer (quick side note on what Headspace calls "squads" -- these are cross-functional groups organized around a particular business focus, usually containing a product owner, tech lead, and engineers across various disciplines). I started to feel lost, like my squad was moving onto bigger and better things and I was being left behind. After a few days of low-grade sulking, I started having conversations with engineers from other squads, taking a lap around the company to see what everyone was working on, and what might be a good fit for my skills. After some research, I transitioned to be primarily a backend engineer in late 2019.In this article, I share a few tips on how my skills expanded while on the job. Make Your Intentions Known When my future role became less defined, I started to doubt myself and my future at Headspace. After some mindful reflection and meditation, I was able to catch myself in a negative thought pattern and snap out of it. I had conversations with my manager and colleagues, to get a feel for what everyone was working on. I was explicit about wanting to find a new team. Word got out, and I eventually decided that I wanted to join the Headspace Health team to explore the healthcare space. I had previously worked with several