Being the Third Engineer
I was the third engineer hired by my company, not counting our technical co-founder. I like that position, and it seems to play to my strengths.
Who is the third engineer? Looking at the startup hiring process, I've noticed a pattern. The first engineer is usually a trusted senior that the founders know. The second engineer is the same, or a referral from the first engineer.
After that, we're running out of known quantities. That third engineer may be the first conventional outside hire. Being that person presents unique challenges.
First, because you're wandering into a culture, you're going to see things a little differently. You didn't work at the old job, so solutions that are a given might surprise you. And you might see their seams before anyone else.
I ask a lot of questions. Sometimes my ideas are unconventional. Sometimes they're a hit. And sometimes, I learn about problems I didn't even know existed, foot guns that have gone off before.
Second, because I don't have that shared history, some communication shorthand is lost on me. I think part of my role is to crank up the communication. I over-communicate on every platform I have. I try to be honest when I don't understand something. I speak up for what will hopefully someday be a lot of other engineers who might ask the same questions.
Third, I'm able to build processes that are too much for one or two engineers but perfect for a small team: company-wide demos, tier-two+ communications with vendors, "Show and Tells", retros, and internal and external knowledge-base building. As we approach that second Bezos pizza, these start to matter.
I think my strengths and weaknesses play into this position, too.
One of my strengths is recognizing when it's time to abstract. It's still usually too early at three-person scale, but it's worth considering.
Another thing that helps is attention to detail, especially in code reviews. Two engineers can track what each other does. Three engineers make it a lot harder. Code reviews start to matter, and doing them well while minimizing friction is an art.
And weaknesses? I can be a contemplative programmer. I might not have been the ideal hire as engineer one or two– they have to ship stuff fast. I like to think that third engineer has the luxury of being, duty to be, a little more cerebral. While still going fast.
Being the third engineer is fun, and I'd do it again. And I'm interested to see how our organization changes as we hire our fifth, and fiftieth, engineer.