# individual contributor Published articles for individual contributor. This is one page of public article previews, not the complete archive. Follow Next page to continue. Summaries are not the original full articles. ## Blog posts that influenced Simon Willison's thinking about software engineering DevFeed: [Blog posts that influenced Simon Willison's thinking about software engineering]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Author: Simon Willison Published: 2026-09-14T20:21:48Z Content type: opinion Language: en Sources: [Simon Willison's Weblog]() Topics: [Software Engineering](), [Tech Debt](), [Database]() Tags: [charity-majors](), [charity-majors-10](), [individual-contributor](), [joel-spolsky](), [joel-spolsky-10](), [management](), [software-engineering](), [software-engineering-64](), [tech-debt](), [will-larson](), [will-larson-17]() ### AI overview Simon Willison describes three blog posts that influenced his thinking: Joel Spolsky's "The Law of Leaky Abstractions," Will Larson's "Migrations: the sole scalable fix to tech debt," and Charity Majors' "The Engineer/Manager Pendulum." He says they shaped his approach to understanding software layers, treating migrations as an important engineering skill, and moving between engineering management and individual-contributor work. ### Source excerpt My comment on What blog posts influenced your thinking the most? -- Lobste.rs. An early Joel Spolsky one for me was The Law of Leaky Abstractions. I read that near the start of my career and it's encouraged me to always be looking for improved understanding of the layers under where I'm working, just in case one of those abstractions leaks. A more recent one, from 2018, is Migrations: the sole scalable fix to tech debt by Will Larson. I absolutely love his idea that migrations (e.g. replacing one service with a new one, or switching database engines, or whatever) are part and parcel of software engineering and are a skill that you should invest in and get good at, not avoid or treat as special one-offs. The Engineer/Manager Pendulum by Charity Majors was hugely influential for me. I was stuck in engineering management and worried that if I switched back to being an "Individual Contributor" (ugh I hate that term) I'd damage my career. Charity gave me permission to make the switch by pointing out that many of the most successful software developers pendulum from one track to the other multiple times over their career, and doing so makes you better at both sides. Tags: joel-spolsky, software-engineering, will-larson, charity-majors ## Five Soft Skills for Individual Contributor Career Growth DevFeed: [Five Soft Skills for Individual Contributor Career Growth]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Author: Prasad Rao Published: 2026-06-18T16:39:48Z Content type: opinion Language: en Sources: [Big Tech Careers]() Topics: [Tech Careers]() Tags: [career](), [individual-contributor](), [influence](), [order](), [soft-skills]() ### AI overview The article discusses five soft skills intended to help individual contributors advance their careers. The supplied text specifically explains influencing others without formal authority and prioritizing work by choosing what not to do. ### Source excerpt The skills that gets ICs promoted ## Put scope on your resume DevFeed: [Put scope on your resume]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Author: hi@swizec.com (Swizec Teller) Published: 2026-03-04T00:00:00Z Content type: opinion Language: en Sources: [Swizec Teller]() Topics: [Job](), [Ansible Roles]() Tags: [employees](), [individual-contributor](), [manager](), [resume](), [scope]() ### AI overview An opinion article argues that resumes should emphasize the scope and impact of a person's work rather than relying on job titles. It recommends explaining responsibilities, stakeholders, results, progression, and measurable context such as company revenue or employee count. ### Source excerpt Your resume titles don't matter. Just tell me what did you do. ## Antonio Troina: My Journey So Far as a Senior Staff Software Engineer DevFeed: [Antonio Troina: My Journey So Far as a Senior Staff Software Engineer]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Author: Antonio Troina Published: 2025-03-24T00:00:00Z Content type: opinion Language: en Sources: [Deliveroo]() Topics: [Software Engineering](), [engineering-culture](), [Development]() Tags: [advice](), [career](), [individual-contributor](), [software-engineer](), [software-engineering]() ### AI overview Antonio Troina describes his six-and-a-half-year career at Deliveroo, from consultancy work to becoming a Senior Staff Software Engineer. He discusses guiding teams, reframing technical and product problems, and progressing along the individual-contributor path. ### Source excerpt Could you introduce yourself and your role at Deliveroo? I'm Antonio, a Senior Staff Engineer at Deliveroo. I have been with Deliveroo for six and a half years, overseeing the entire New Verticals domain as well as the Catalogues space, as an Individual Contributor (IC). Can you tell us a little bit about your career journey into engineering and how you found yourself at Deliveroo? I have been passionate about computers since childhood, which led me to pursue studies in software engineering. I began my career working for consultancy firms in Italy, my home country, before moving to London, where I continued in consultancy roles across both the private and public sectors. Eventually, I joined Deliveroo, which, interestingly, is my first purely product-based company. I started as a Software Engineer six and a half years ago, and as my skills, experience, and ability to influence grew, I naturally transitioned into my current role, which I truly enjoy. Reflecting on the role of a Senior Staff Software Engineer here, what do you think is the most rewarding part of it? One of the most interesting aspects of my role is helping teams see challenges from different perspectives, drawing from my experience over the years. I've encountered situations where problems were approached in one way but could have been tackled more effectively through alternative methods. I enjoy guiding teams through that journey, particularly when it comes to challenging product requirements and rethinking how problems are framed. While many initiatives originate from product, some also stem directly from technology. Often, our technical interactions with other teams and systems provide insights that may not be as clear to product managers. In these cases, I find that a bottom-up approach can be highly effective. What would you say about career progression at Deliveroo? I would say career progression is quite varied. It can involve moving upward within the same path or making a lateral shift to expl ## Day in the Life: Jessica Leivers DevFeed: [Day in the Life: Jessica Leivers]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Author: Rasha Ardati Published: 2023-07-25T15:41:34Z Content type: article Language: en Sources: [Guardian]() Topics: [Development](), [Software Engineering](), [data-engineering](), [Tech Lead](), [Job]() Tags: [career](), [developer](), [development](), [engineering](), [individual-contributor](), [interview](), [leadership](), [mentoring](), [software-development](), [software-engineering](), [tech-lead]() ### AI overview An interview with Jessica Leivers about her path from early interest in computers to software and data engineering, volunteering and mentoring, and her transition from individual contributor to engineering manager at the Guardian. ### Source excerpt Welcome to our 'Day in the Life' blog series where we interview a colleague from the product and engineering department to reflect on their career and experiences at the Guardian Did you always have an interest in software development from a young age? I definitely had an interest in computers but I didn't know what software development was. I remember being very small when my dad got me a BBC Model B computer and then when I was a bit older we got a family Commodore Amiga A500. I used it to play Superfrog and Lemmings but my dad, who was a mechanical engineer by profession, had become interested in software development. Luckily for me he had built up a small home library of software and web development books that I could dip into as a teenager when I first became interested in making a website. Unfortunately, at university my dissertation supervisor put me off software engineering by warning me "you should be careful, you might end up a developer!" leading me to believe this would be an awful career. Thankfully, in my 20s I ended up in software development anyway and this warning couldn't have been more false. I was careful; I ended up as a developer; and it is great! Continue reading... ## New Joiner: Walt Carvalho DevFeed: [New Joiner: Walt Carvalho]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Author: incident.io Published: 2023-04-03T00:00:00Z Content type: article Language: en Sources: [The incident.io Blog]() Topics: [Development](), [Software]() Tags: [blog](), [blog-post](), [development](), [incident](), [incident-channel](), [incident-management](), [incident-response](), [individual-contributor](), [outage](), [post-mortem](), [slack-incident](), [software-engineer]() ### AI overview Walt Carvalho introduces himself as a new Product Engineer at incident.io, describing his previous work at Gitter, GoCardless, and Duffel and his return to an individual contributor engineering role. ### Source excerpt Welcoming Carvalho to the team! ## Becoming an Organizational Leader DevFeed: [Becoming an Organizational Leader]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Author: Michael Ortali Published: 2021-07-13T19:00:00Z Content type: tutorial Language: en Sources: [Square Corner Blog RSS Feed]() Topics: [Learning](), [Software]() Tags: [career](), [coaching](), [engineering](), [growth](), [guide](), [how-to](), [individual-contributor](), [organizational](), [strategy](), [teams]() ### AI overview Square's article explains how individual-contributor engineers can progress from team leadership to organizational leadership. It frames growth as an individual journey supported by managers, peers, and learning opportunities rather than a fixed step-by-step timeline. ### Source excerpt Progressing from a team leader to an organizational leader as an individual contributor