The Long Game: Staff+ Engineering Agency and the Art of Thriving Through Hype-Cycles

Staff+ engineering has always been about shaping strategy, navigating ambiguity, and building durable systems. As the most recent hype-cycle, AI is fundamentally changing how decisions are made, and the practice of Staff+ engineering has to evolve. This track explores what's changed, what hasn't, and how senior ICs play the long game to sustain agency and influence through rapid industry shifts.

From this track

Session

The Hidden Power of Boring Problems

Monday Mar 16 / 10:35AM GMT

Every engineer faces the same dilemma: invest your limited time mastering the latest technology and framework, or go deeper on fundamental problems that feel "boring" but compound for decades to come?

Speaker image - Yinka Omole

Yinka Omole

Lead Software Engineer @Personio, Previously Vice President @Goldman Sachs

Session

The Sociotechnical Staff Engineer: Architecture, Culture and Organizational Change

Monday Mar 16 / 11:45AM GMT

In today’s complex engineering landscape, Staff+ engineers, architects, and technical leaders can no longer operate solely as technical experts.

Speaker image - Vanessa Formicola

Vanessa Formicola

Principal Architect and Head of TASC (Technology, Architecture and Software Craft) @Prima, Ex Thoughtworks/Microsoft

Session

All Tech Debt is NOT Created Equal

Monday Mar 16 / 01:35PM GMT

As we move into the era of AI, code that could be called slop or tech debt is increasing faster than ever. This means that managing that tech debt is just as important as ever. However, how do you prioritize which tech debt to work on? How do you convince others that any of it is important?

Speaker image - Joy Ebertz

Joy Ebertz

Principal Engineer @Imprint, Blogger, and Speaker, Previously @Harness, @Split, & @Box

Session

The Influence Toolkit

Monday Mar 16 / 02:45PM GMT

Senior IC roles are often said to be about influence – but what do we mean by influence? And what are the tools that a senior IC can employ to influence individuals and teams within a large organisation?

Speaker image - Henry Wilson

Henry Wilson

Senior Architect @BBC

Session

Unconference: Staff+ Engineering

Monday Mar 16 / 03:55PM GMT

Session

Maintaining System Coherence in an AI-Generated World

Monday Mar 16 / 05:05PM GMT

Details coming soon.

Date

Monday Mar 16 / 10:35AM GMT

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Track Host

Shawna Martell

Principal Software Engineer @Imprint, Previously @Carta, @Yahoo, @Verizon, and @Wolfram

Shawna Martell is a Principal Software Engineer at Imprint. Her previous experience includes Sr Staff Engineer at Carta, Director of Software Engineering for Yahoo's Big Data Platform, and she was one of the original engineers on Wolfram|Alpha. She holds an MS in Computer Science from Syracuse University and an MBA from the University of Illinois. Beyond her professional pursuits, she channels her passion into volunteering in local politics and finds solace in the world of podcasts.

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