Aneesh Adhikari

“There’s no jobs for Jr Software Engineers out there!” NOT TRUE…But there are some major issues in today’s hiring market. 1. MISALIGNED FOUNDATIONAL EXPERIENCE: The majority of aspiring SEs are either: Recent CS grads (less hands-on exp); OR, Bootcamp grads (less theory). Meanwhile...Most enterprise companies who hire a ton of SEs are looking for CS grads that ALSO have hands-on experience already. 2. MISALIGNED TECH STACKS: The majority of aspiring SEs are only experienced in NodeJS and/or Python. Meanwhile…Most of the companies who hire a ton of SEs are using Java or C# backends. Companies using NodeJS or Python backends are often smaller and can't hire as many SEs. That’s why our Enterprise Accelerator is making a difference. We identify diverse CS grads who are hungry, and we teach them the hands-on Java skills that companies are using in the real world over 3 months. Best of both worlds 😎 If you're interested in seeing some of this kind of talent--send me a DM and we'll get you connected. Want to join our next Enterprise Accelerator cohort? Stay tuned for the next webinar in early August.

77

7 Comments

The equity value of Meta RSU's has drastically increased the past 3 years. Attached are just the equity portion of a software engineer who joined Meta in May 2021 as an IC3. They are currently an IC4 on path to get promoted next year to IC5. Their Equity has come from: 2022: $30k 2023: $60k 2024: $139k Before refreshers they are projected to already bring in $118k. The refresher would add ~$15-30k at current values per year on top of that. This is just for an IC4. Think about what the D level comp over this time has looked like.

152

13 Comments

"I don't like leetcode style interviews!" See I wasn't making it up! Kurtis Nusbaum tells us more about why engineers don't like leetcode and the types of interviews that lead to a more enjoyable and effective interviewing experience.

4

1 Comment

A few years ago, I wrote a post on Quora about interview process for Principal Engineer role at Amazon. In that post, I shared my own experiences as the recruiter owning that hiring process, as well as tips from other Principal Engineers who had been through the process. Even today, I get weekly emails and messages from senior engineers who saw that post and want to learn more about the Amazon interview. We often end up talking about more than just Amazon. We discuss career development and interview skills in general. I really enjoy those conversations! Since 2017 (when I wrote the Quora post), Amazon has created several helpful resources to prepare candidates for their interviews. Here below are those "official" interview prep materials. I hope you find them useful. Feel free to share them with your friends who are getting ready for job interviews. The Original Quora post: https://lnkd.in/gGVBsJfn Amazon Interview Prep Repo: https://lnkd.in/gnnanGCz Now that you have a starting point, in coming weeks, I plan to write about the "softer skills" that are hard to measure but can really make a difference in interviews. I will expand on those topics. I will breakdown topics like "technical leadership assessment in interviews", authenticity, dealing with ambiguity, "active listening during interview", and other topics. I will write about 'interview preparation' itself! DM, email me on what other 'non-obvious' topics you want me to write about? PS: I'll try to keep my writing practical and broadly applicable, even though my experience is mostly with Amazon. 😀 #interviewing #careeradvise #careergoals #careertransition #interviewpreparation #interviewtips #principalengineer #amazon #amazoninterview

127

9 Comments

Just opened a Staff Backend Engineer role with GameChanger! This is a pretty specific team, so please read the job details prior to applying. Job Title: Staff Backend Engineer, Revenue Growth Job Description: https://lnkd.in/gakPtyGw Location: Remote within the US* (Must have current authorization) The Position: GameChanger's Revenue Growth Team is responsible for increasing subscription rates through A/B testing, building new subscription purchase flows, and iterating quickly to determine what features are most valuable to users of GameChanger. The Growth Team is responsible for the entire experimentation platform as well as subscriptions, pricing, and packaging. As a Staff Backend Software Engineer, you’ll be responsible for setting the long term technical direction for our subscription and pricing services. You’ll also make architectural decisions within our backend in order to support our web, iOS, and Android clients. Needs for this role (💡 ie what we want to directly see on your resume!): Our backend APIs are built with TypeScript, Node.js, Redis, and PostgreSQL and run in AWS. 💻 7+ years in a software development role. ⌨ 5+ years experience with Node.js 🖲 Strong experience with A/B testing. <-- this is strongly needed as this is not a feature-based team. We'll want to see that demonstrated in your experience 🖱 Experience with TypeScript is strongly preferred. 🗣 Strong leadership and mentorship experience. 💾 Experience leading architectural decisions and API design. Please see the full job description for role criteria and expectations. What joining GameChanger offers you: 👍 Compensation $210,000 - $250,000 (including equity, bonus, etc) 👍 Unlimited PTO 👍 Full benefits including medical, dental, 401K matching and more! 👍 Remote work within the US or come work out of our Manhattan office *DICK’S Sporting Goods has company-wide practices to monitor and protect the company from significant compliance and monetary implications as it pertains to employer state tax liabilities. Due to said guidelines put in place, we are unable to hire in AK, DE, HI, IA, LA, MS, MT, OK, and SC. 🚨 Rather than messaging me inquiring about the role, please apply directly to the link and the hiring team will review. If there's a strong fit, someone will reach out to set up a call to speak further. We cannot consider candidates without an application. Due to volume of inquiries, I will be prioritizing direct applicants vs general DM's. No C2C or agency/bench sales inquiries please. This is not a contract position and not available outside the US or for those without authorization. Interested in this role? Please apply directly. Know someone who may be a good fit? Share this post with them: https://lnkd.in/gakPtyGw #staffengineer #engineeringroles #techjobs #remotejobs

64

13 Comments

𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐀𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐚 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐄-𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐞 𝐀𝐝𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞! I've finally landed a role as a private contractor. I'm diving into the world of e-commerce! After months of searching and searching - dodging scammers who prey upon folks looking for a dev job, and navigating the stressful software engineering job market, I've been contracted to build and maintain an online store for a multi-million dollar equipment business (I can't share more at this time). While this won't solve the problem of needing a full-time role with benefits, this much-needed opportunity lets me flex my dev skills by building a full-fledged e-commerce site with a ton of inventory, managing stock, and crafting captivating content with photos and detailed descriptions. I'm thrilled (and a bit nervous) to start this journey and (hopefully) make a real impact on this 40-year-old business. Huge thanks to everyone for the support and encouragement—you guys rock! I will say this to all of those interested in how I did it. I put myself out there. I reached out to people, I struck up conversations with folks, and I leveraged every professional relationship I had (some personal as well -- 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑝𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑒!). By focusing on building relationships with folks, eventually, someone I was talking to said, "Oh! You should talk to so-and-so!" They made the introduction, and now I can pay the bills for a while. 😉😁 Networking is important. I didn't apply for this gig because there was no job listing for it. I networked and found someone who needed what I could do, wrote a professional proposal, and was nice and fair with my pricing. I'm still looking for a full-time role; however, I'm very excited about this role, as the company I am contracting with has a lot of potential. #softwareengineer #network #networking #techjobs

8

5 Comments

If you're not a software engineer, keep scrolling. I've been an engineer my entire career and have led engineers for 9+ years. I love this profession. But there's one mistake I see mid-level engineers make too often: Not being clear about the value they're providing. There are 4 areas in which engineers provide value: Technology, Product, Process, and People. But no one gets to Product, Process, or People without mastering Technology. And I'm here to tell you there is a lot of value in the technical understanding. Don't try to scale the ranks before you build depth there. We’re engineers. No matter your title, you need to be comfortable building software. Ideally, you should love it. When you’re progressing through your career, it’s exciting to get tapped on the shoulder to lead a product, overhaul a DevOps process, or manage people. And when you get these opportunities, take them. But make sure you stay close to the engineering part of the process. Because as soon as your coding capabilities start to dwindle, you lose value. That sword needs to stay sharp. A principal engineer who is either a) not interested in being hands-on or b) no longer capable of being hands-on, can’t succeed in leading a team. Today I’m a CTO. But if my team needs me to write code, I’m there in a heartbeat. So my advice to younger engineers is: Stay close to the tech. It makes you better at Product, Process, and People. If you’re an engineer reading this, know that I appreciate you. This isn’t an easy job, and I respect you for doing it. P.S. In the spirit of this post, here's a photo of me with much longer hair from *slightly* earlier in my career.

51

7 Comments

The hardest technical decision I made at Amazon wasn't about technology. During a project, an engineering team wanted to rebuild our entire checkout system. I remember, the enthusiast team; "It's legacy code," one of my best engineering colleague said. "We can do it in 3 months." But here's what my Amazon experience taught me to ask: I asked the below Questions: 1/ Why now? 2/ What's the actual pain? 3/ What's the hidden cost? After diving deep (Amazon leadership principle in action), we discovered: - 80% of issues came from 20% of the code - Complete rebuild = 6 months minimum - Migration risks > Current pain What we did instead: 1/ Isolated the problematic components 2/ Created clear interfaces 3/ Rebuilt critical parts first Result: - 70% improvement in performance - Only 6 weeks of work - Zero customer impact The Framework I Used: 1. Pain Assessment - Current impact - Future risks - Resource cost 2. Solution Mapping - Quick wins - Medium changes - Complete rebuilds 3. Hidden Cost Analysis - Migration complexity - Team bandwidth - Customer impact Key Learning: Technical decisions aren't about the newest technology. They're about making the right trade-offs. Early PMs: What technical decisions are you struggling with? Let's solve them together 👇

158

12 Comments

Waymo is probably both more expensive and longer waits on average than Uber or Lyft today, but they are close enough, and rapidly getting better. These markets will flip to fully autonomous when the tech is ready.

2

Well said. The alarmism around AI replacing software engineers often overlooks the complexity of our role. While AI tools like Devin are impressive, they are assistants, not replacements. 𝟏. 𝐂𝐨𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐬 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐚𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐨𝐟𝐭𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝟐. 𝐒𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐫 𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞, 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧-𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬-𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. 𝟑. 𝐔𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐬. 𝟒. 𝐄𝐱𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐮𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐥, 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧-𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐞𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. AI will definitely reshape our workflows, but it won't replace the need for skilled engineers. Instead, it may allow us to focus more on high-level problem-solving and innovation. Arvind Telharkar 👏

7

1 Comment

Every SWE job currently has hundreds if not thousands of candidates waiting to get their chance. The tech market, though recovering, is highly crowded. Everyone wants to stand out, and some candidates don’t even know where to start because the rules are different from before. Layoffs, recession, remote work, and AI have pushed many engineers into the job market, where they’ve been trying to stay afloat in a losing game. In the next 3 minutes, I’ll explain the entire standard process and give you an actionable strategy for landing your job.  1/ Job Application - Show measurable impact. Avoid generic skill lists; highlight achievements with numbers. - Use relevant keywords, add endorsements, and ensure it aligns with your resume. - Explain any employment gaps, avoid meaningless buzzwords, and show clear career growth. - Apply only to roles where your skills truly align. - Ensure your resume is clean, concise, and easy to read.  2/ Screening Call - Have a 30-second summary that’s sharp and memorable. - Highlight relevant experience and avoid oversharing. - Prepare responses to “Tell me about yourself” and “Why this role?”  - State Salary Range Confidently: Research the market rate; give a realistic range. - End with Follow-up: Ask when to expect feedback to show proactive interest.  3/ Technical Interviews - Break Down the Problem First: Don’t rush into coding; outline your approach. - Explain Your Thought Process: Talk through each step so interviewers see your logic. - Suggest Optimizations: Even if not required, mention how you’d improve efficiency. - Nail the Basics: Be solid with algorithms, data structures, and Big O. - Keep Calm & Treat it as Collaboration: Approach it like pair programming; focus on solving, not impressing.  4/ Hiring Manager Interview - Share examples where you contributed to team goals or solved conflicts. - Talk about difficulties and what you have learned. - Give examples of projects you led or took the initiative on. - Avoid Robotic Answers: Be genuine, honest, and clear. - Stay Brief and Bold: Concise responses are often more impactful.  5/ Culture Fit Interview - Research their mission, values, and culture so you can speak to them directly. - Express genuine excitement for their work and goals. - Show you’re thinking about long-term fit with questions about growth and team dynamics. - Authenticity matters – let them see the real you. - Even if discussing challenges, focus on growth and resilience.  6/ Offer Negotiation - Ask for time to review details before making a decision. - Focus on base salary, bonuses, remote work options, and growth budget. -  Aim a bit higher than your comfort zone but stay realistic. - Make sure all terms are clear in the offer letter. - Once terms are right, confirm and step into the role with assurance. Comment and share your experience if you have gone through the process or are getting ready for it. What's your take on it?

144

5 Comments

Some engineers are worth +$2,000,000/yr, and I'll explain why. Their biggest skill is not coding. It’s “leverage.” Top software engineers who make millions share these three qualities. 1. They handle a large group of engineers These engineers often lead tech leads and handle teams of 25+ engineers. This influence gives them leverage and increases their impact within the company. 2. They write super impactful and clean code In companies like Meta, even a single change in software can have a huge impact. This impact makes paying a lot for their specialized skills worth it. 3. They improve efficiency at scale They make improvements to tools or infrastructure that everyone uses. Making 500 engineers 5% faster is like creating the bandwidth of 25 new engineers.   Most engineers won’t reach these levels, but we can still learn from them. The key to having more impact is working harder and finding ways to leverage your efforts. Focus on leveraging your impact, as it’s the best way to achieve more. 

285

5 Comments

🔨 You're a senior software engineer. You know your stuff. But you are not being promoted or recognized, and you're not sure why. Being an amazing engineer will get you from entry level roles until senior. But beyond that you might run into snags that aren't as obvious as they should be. As you progress into more senior and principal roles, your leadership skills, including your ability to influence without authority become more and more important. This might include building trusted relationships across the organization, which is required to lead some critical initiatives. As a principal engineer you might be asked to lead an initiative that impacts all engineering teams. How will you get a group of smart and opinionated engineers to progress in the same direction? That requires teams to trust you. You may not always have a gavel. 👉🏾 Building an internal reputation is critical. Not just be known as a great engineer, but also a great collaborator who listens as much as brings opinions. 👉🏾 If this is where you are in your career, I'd love to chat more. Ping me below and/or send me a DM. I'd like to set you up with mentorship and the tools you need to be success--all free. #mentormesh #leadership #engineering

46

𝗗𝗿𝗮𝘄𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝘁 𝗮 𝗙𝗔𝗔𝗡𝗚 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘆 Working at a FAANG company is widely seen as a mark of success and prestige, but there are hidden drawbacks that often go unnoticed. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗻 𝗛𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗰𝘂𝗳𝗳𝘀 The perks at FAANG companies are hard to walk away from. From high salaries, stock options, and bonuses to lavish office environments, free food, massages, gaming rooms etc. these companies make it incredibly comfortable to stay. However, this comfort can become a trap. Many employees end up feeling "locked in" by the financial rewards and perks, even if they’re no longer passionate about the work. Leaving such a job can feel like a huge risk, especially when the lifestyle and benefits have become part of your everyday life. This dynamic often leads to engineers staying in roles that no longer challenge them, delaying career transitions they might otherwise pursue. 𝗔 𝗖𝗼𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗲𝗹 This is in general true for any big tech company. In a massive organization, it’s easy to feel like a small part of a much larger machine. While being part of something big can be exciting, it can also leave you feeling like just another cog in the wheel. Individual achievements may go unnoticed in such a large ecosystem, making it difficult to stand out or receive personal validation for your work. 𝗠𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘅 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗲𝗱 At FAANG companies, there’s an internal tool or system for almost everything. While this can be incredibly efficient, it also means that much of the most complex problems have already been solved, for the complex problems that the company is yet to solve, you might not be the one solving them. Instead, you’re often working within predefined frameworks, which can limit your learning opportunities. Compared to startups where engineers are frequently required to build things from scratch, this environment may feel less rewarding for those who thrive on tackling new and unsolved problems. 𝗙𝗿𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗖𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 Working on a project at a FAANG company doesn’t always guarantee that it will see the light of day. Due to shifting business priorities, rebranding efforts, or leadership changes, entire projects or even teams can be shut down without warning. This unpredictability can be frustrating, especially for engineers who have invested significant time and effort into a project only to see it canceled. It makes it difficult to get too attached to your work, as priorities can change on a whim. This lack of control can also impact long-term job satisfaction. Is the comfort and prestige of a FAANG job worth the potential trade-offs in personal growth and fulfillment? #FAANG #Google #SoftwareEngineering #BigTech #GoldenHandcuffs #JobSatisfaction

43

Distinguished Engineers (E9) at Meta make $4m/year. That's 16x the Bay Area median ($255k) Let's break it down [output = input x leverage] We all have 24 hours in a day, so there is a cap on [input] But hey, let's say they manage to have 2x-3x more focused time, so their [input] is 2x-3x There is still 5.3x-8x to go And that's [leverage] Here is the [leverage] they have: 1️⃣ Writing Every piece of text they write is clear to everyone, and they write a lot, for a lot of people 2️⃣ They create something from nothing And that something has clear value to the business 3️⃣ They influence other Engineers around them They are often described as having a "Midas Touch" in terms of their ability to uplift and develop other Engineers around them The best indicator is that the Engineers in their teams get promoted faster 4️⃣ They are well known and have an impact beyond Meta, promoting the brand 5️⃣ They have industry-leading experience in some areas There are rumoured to be <50 E9s at Meta

13

1 Comment

It’s official: landing a software engineering job is tougher now than it was just a few years ago. With many startups shutting down and big companies laying off employees, candidates with 0-5 years of experience are feeling the pinch. What can you do? Shift your storytelling from tools and languages to the impact you've made. Highlight who your users were, how you improved their lives, and any recognition you received. Remember, outcomes matter more than just the technologies you used!

2

Top 3 things I’m hearing software engineers want… (aside from money & flexibility) 🎯𝐎𝐰𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 & 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭 🎯𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡 𝐎𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬  🎯𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐱 𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐬 If you’re hiring for software folks… A good place to start is highlighting these in job specs. Then as part of your interview process. And once they’re in the door. Put it into practice and your retention will improve. Otherwise I might be speaking to them again 😊 Anything I've missed? #softwareengineer #retention #talentacquisition 

7

It’s no secret—I’m obsessed with humanoid robots. Why? Because they’re cool—they’re revolutionizing manufacturing, reshaping the labor force, and pushing humanity forward in ways we’re only beginning to imagine. (and maybe I just need more help in life. Obviously). Here’s what’s happening in the world of my favorite humie heroes: 🤖🚘 Figure has teamed up with BMW, putting their humanoid robots to work in auto manufacturing. 🤖 📦Agility Robotics has introduced Digit, their incredible bot that’s already lending a hand in Amazon warehouses. And of course, there’s 🤖 🎁Tesla’s Optimus, aiming to wrap our Christmas presents (or take over other tedious tasks) by 2025. This article dives deeper into these robotic trailblazers—and my favorite “humies.” Which one’s your favorite? I can't decide, but hopefully you'll weigh in.

8

1 Comment