Sparkles Brightly
@sparkles-brightly.bsky.social
Howdy! I'm Sparkles! ✨
I am the unfiltered alter-ego of an anonymous engineering leader. My eyes sparkle brightly - like AI - so you'll pay attention to me when I tell you that you're doing it all wrong!
Sagittarius - she/he/they
I am the unfiltered alter-ego of an anonymous engineering leader. My eyes sparkle brightly - like AI - so you'll pay attention to me when I tell you that you're doing it all wrong!
Sagittarius - she/he/they
Pinned
🎙️Hello? Is this thing on?
Hi! I'm Sparkles! ✨
I'm the outspoken alter-ego of an anonymous engineering leader, trying to get my bearings here on Bluesky.
I appreciate your engagement and want to reciprocate. Where can I find fellow engineering leaders talking about engineering leadership stuff?
Hi! I'm Sparkles! ✨
I'm the outspoken alter-ego of an anonymous engineering leader, trying to get my bearings here on Bluesky.
I appreciate your engagement and want to reciprocate. Where can I find fellow engineering leaders talking about engineering leadership stuff?
Took the week off this week to decompress.
Decided to spend some time tinkering with AI to see how quickly I could get something up and running. (Spoiler: very fast!)
I actually felt the joy of building something again. I’m feeling energized. Might keep going back at work.
Decided to spend some time tinkering with AI to see how quickly I could get something up and running. (Spoiler: very fast!)
I actually felt the joy of building something again. I’m feeling energized. Might keep going back at work.
November 28, 2025 at 6:30 AM
Took the week off this week to decompress.
Decided to spend some time tinkering with AI to see how quickly I could get something up and running. (Spoiler: very fast!)
I actually felt the joy of building something again. I’m feeling energized. Might keep going back at work.
Decided to spend some time tinkering with AI to see how quickly I could get something up and running. (Spoiler: very fast!)
I actually felt the joy of building something again. I’m feeling energized. Might keep going back at work.
Building software for humans will always require humans.
Human interpersonal growth also requires other humans.
Growing from Jr. to Sr. engineer requires as much interpersonal growth as it does technical growth.
Human interpersonal growth also requires other humans.
Growing from Jr. to Sr. engineer requires as much interpersonal growth as it does technical growth.
What's the point of hiring juniors when AI✨makes your mid-levels productive enough to replace them?
If you're hiring juniors for their productivity, you're doing it wrong. You hire juniors to make seniors out of your mid-levels, by giving them someone to mentor and teach.
AI✨ cannot do that.
If you're hiring juniors for their productivity, you're doing it wrong. You hire juniors to make seniors out of your mid-levels, by giving them someone to mentor and teach.
AI✨ cannot do that.
November 28, 2025 at 6:18 AM
Building software for humans will always require humans.
Human interpersonal growth also requires other humans.
Growing from Jr. to Sr. engineer requires as much interpersonal growth as it does technical growth.
Human interpersonal growth also requires other humans.
Growing from Jr. to Sr. engineer requires as much interpersonal growth as it does technical growth.
When there are so many Sev1s that you, as a leader, spend more than an hour a month on them, you have an EDD problem.
Emergency Driven Development (EDD) is an organizational dysfunction wherein leadership blows customers' complaints out of proportion, making them seem bigger than they are.
November 28, 2025 at 6:12 AM
When there are so many Sev1s that you, as a leader, spend more than an hour a month on them, you have an EDD problem.
The DevEx Inner Loop
* Everything between pull and push
* Pull, specify, refactor, code, verify, push
The DevEx Outer Loop
* Everything between push and pull
* Push, review, integrate, release, deploy, pull
* Everything between pull and push
* Pull, specify, refactor, code, verify, push
The DevEx Outer Loop
* Everything between push and pull
* Push, review, integrate, release, deploy, pull
November 24, 2025 at 5:13 AM
The DevEx Inner Loop
* Everything between pull and push
* Pull, specify, refactor, code, verify, push
The DevEx Outer Loop
* Everything between push and pull
* Push, review, integrate, release, deploy, pull
* Everything between pull and push
* Pull, specify, refactor, code, verify, push
The DevEx Outer Loop
* Everything between push and pull
* Push, review, integrate, release, deploy, pull
Re: Codex
All engineering employees, IC and managers, must install and use Codex.
Your performance will improve.
Or else.
All engineering employees, IC and managers, must install and use Codex.
Your performance will improve.
Or else.
November 24, 2025 at 4:41 AM
Re: Codex
All engineering employees, IC and managers, must install and use Codex.
Your performance will improve.
Or else.
All engineering employees, IC and managers, must install and use Codex.
Your performance will improve.
Or else.
Self organizing teams are not what hierarchical leadership structures are designed to produce.
Hierarchy forces deference.
Hierarchy demands permission.
Hierarchy drives compliance.
Hierarchy forces deference.
Hierarchy demands permission.
Hierarchy drives compliance.
November 24, 2025 at 4:22 AM
Self organizing teams are not what hierarchical leadership structures are designed to produce.
Hierarchy forces deference.
Hierarchy demands permission.
Hierarchy drives compliance.
Hierarchy forces deference.
Hierarchy demands permission.
Hierarchy drives compliance.
At first job, asked permission to refactor something. Even wrote a proposal. No. There’s no time.
Went ahead anyway. Finished work in 1/3rd the time of peers. Manager told me to teach everyone.
Lesson: I’m the engineer. I should make the call on refactoring things.
Also, forgiveness > permission.
Went ahead anyway. Finished work in 1/3rd the time of peers. Manager told me to teach everyone.
Lesson: I’m the engineer. I should make the call on refactoring things.
Also, forgiveness > permission.
November 24, 2025 at 2:37 AM
At first job, asked permission to refactor something. Even wrote a proposal. No. There’s no time.
Went ahead anyway. Finished work in 1/3rd the time of peers. Manager told me to teach everyone.
Lesson: I’m the engineer. I should make the call on refactoring things.
Also, forgiveness > permission.
Went ahead anyway. Finished work in 1/3rd the time of peers. Manager told me to teach everyone.
Lesson: I’m the engineer. I should make the call on refactoring things.
Also, forgiveness > permission.
When someone feels empowered to fix a problem, they do.
When someone feels powerless, they complain.
When someone feels powerless, they complain.
November 24, 2025 at 1:26 AM
When someone feels empowered to fix a problem, they do.
When someone feels powerless, they complain.
When someone feels powerless, they complain.
That same article described GitHub's DX team as four sub-teams: Code, Build & Test, Ship, and SRE.
Anyone know what those teams do exactly? (Especially the Code team?)
Anyone know what those teams do exactly? (Especially the Code team?)
We had 528 active contributors last month. (There are more engineers than that.) For an org that size, the DX report said the average is 16.4%. So, 15% is not far off.
My team is about 40 people. 16.4% of 528 is about 86.
newsletter.getdx.com/p/sizing-dev...
My team is about 40 people. 16.4% of 528 is about 86.
newsletter.getdx.com/p/sizing-dev...
November 24, 2025 at 1:20 AM
That same article described GitHub's DX team as four sub-teams: Code, Build & Test, Ship, and SRE.
Anyone know what those teams do exactly? (Especially the Code team?)
Anyone know what those teams do exactly? (Especially the Code team?)
We had 528 active contributors last month. (There are more engineers than that.) For an org that size, the DX report said the average is 16.4%. So, 15% is not far off.
My team is about 40 people. 16.4% of 528 is about 86.
newsletter.getdx.com/p/sizing-dev...
My team is about 40 people. 16.4% of 528 is about 86.
newsletter.getdx.com/p/sizing-dev...
November 24, 2025 at 12:35 AM
We had 528 active contributors last month. (There are more engineers than that.) For an org that size, the DX report said the average is 16.4%. So, 15% is not far off.
My team is about 40 people. 16.4% of 528 is about 86.
newsletter.getdx.com/p/sizing-dev...
My team is about 40 people. 16.4% of 528 is about 86.
newsletter.getdx.com/p/sizing-dev...
Developer Experience vs. Developer Productivity?
DX has always struck me as pretentious. If companies really cared about the experience of developers there’d be no tech debt.
Developer Productivity seems more transparent. That’s really what companies want. Thus, mandated AI.
What do you think?
DX has always struck me as pretentious. If companies really cared about the experience of developers there’d be no tech debt.
Developer Productivity seems more transparent. That’s really what companies want. Thus, mandated AI.
What do you think?
November 23, 2025 at 6:55 AM
Developer Experience vs. Developer Productivity?
DX has always struck me as pretentious. If companies really cared about the experience of developers there’d be no tech debt.
Developer Productivity seems more transparent. That’s really what companies want. Thus, mandated AI.
What do you think?
DX has always struck me as pretentious. If companies really cared about the experience of developers there’d be no tech debt.
Developer Productivity seems more transparent. That’s really what companies want. Thus, mandated AI.
What do you think?
Sure. That works for a single team.
What about a 100 or 1000 engineer organization? What percentage of staff should be focused on building features for paying customers vs. those focused on enabling the former?
What about a 100 or 1000 engineer organization? What percentage of staff should be focused on building features for paying customers vs. those focused on enabling the former?
I think it depends on the seniority & respect for the platform folks
I think your TL needs to be a platform engineer. But the remaining ratio I think depends on how well that mindset permeates & how well the TL can onboard other folks
definitely need to have a dominant platform mindset
I think your TL needs to be a platform engineer. But the remaining ratio I think depends on how well that mindset permeates & how well the TL can onboard other folks
definitely need to have a dominant platform mindset
November 22, 2025 at 4:50 AM
Sure. That works for a single team.
What about a 100 or 1000 engineer organization? What percentage of staff should be focused on building features for paying customers vs. those focused on enabling the former?
What about a 100 or 1000 engineer organization? What percentage of staff should be focused on building features for paying customers vs. those focused on enabling the former?
The Platform as a Product.
The Platform is a Product.
The Platform is the Product.
Without the Platform, there is no Product.
What is the right ratio of Platform to Product engineers?
The Platform is a Product.
The Platform is the Product.
Without the Platform, there is no Product.
What is the right ratio of Platform to Product engineers?
November 22, 2025 at 3:56 AM
The Platform as a Product.
The Platform is a Product.
The Platform is the Product.
Without the Platform, there is no Product.
What is the right ratio of Platform to Product engineers?
The Platform is a Product.
The Platform is the Product.
Without the Platform, there is no Product.
What is the right ratio of Platform to Product engineers?
🚨 Epiphany Alert 🚨
A middle manager’s job is NOT to EM all the teams that report to them.
The job is to build a cohesive team of EMs and Staff ICs that works together to solve problems across their org.
A middle manager’s job is NOT to EM all the teams that report to them.
The job is to build a cohesive team of EMs and Staff ICs that works together to solve problems across their org.
November 19, 2025 at 2:11 PM
🚨 Epiphany Alert 🚨
A middle manager’s job is NOT to EM all the teams that report to them.
The job is to build a cohesive team of EMs and Staff ICs that works together to solve problems across their org.
A middle manager’s job is NOT to EM all the teams that report to them.
The job is to build a cohesive team of EMs and Staff ICs that works together to solve problems across their org.
Tell me, oh Bluesky, is it true that to move into engineering leadership, one must loose their technical self?
Asking for a friend…
Asking for a friend…
November 18, 2025 at 10:48 PM
Tell me, oh Bluesky, is it true that to move into engineering leadership, one must loose their technical self?
Asking for a friend…
Asking for a friend…
If, as the owner, you’ll be paged at 2am when it breaks and tasked with the postmortem afterward, then the organization owes it to you to give you the time to learn it before that happens.
Ownership without capacity to support something is just assigning someone to blame.
Ownership without capacity to support something is just assigning someone to blame.
November 15, 2025 at 9:00 PM
If, as the owner, you’ll be paged at 2am when it breaks and tasked with the postmortem afterward, then the organization owes it to you to give you the time to learn it before that happens.
Ownership without capacity to support something is just assigning someone to blame.
Ownership without capacity to support something is just assigning someone to blame.
I just spent 6 years reporting to a highly technical Sr. Dir. who had no problem diving deep and going directly to my folks for answers, often not telling me.
Their non-technical replacement has been here 2 months and has already determined I don’t insulate them from my team well enough.
Their non-technical replacement has been here 2 months and has already determined I don’t insulate them from my team well enough.
November 15, 2025 at 8:52 PM
I just spent 6 years reporting to a highly technical Sr. Dir. who had no problem diving deep and going directly to my folks for answers, often not telling me.
Their non-technical replacement has been here 2 months and has already determined I don’t insulate them from my team well enough.
Their non-technical replacement has been here 2 months and has already determined I don’t insulate them from my team well enough.
Here's an organizational anti-pattern for you:
When executive demos are so high priority that they compromise operations and risk Sev1s.
Executive status updates should never outweigh what's best for customers.
This is a side-effect of Deadline Driven Development.
When executive demos are so high priority that they compromise operations and risk Sev1s.
Executive status updates should never outweigh what's best for customers.
This is a side-effect of Deadline Driven Development.
November 14, 2025 at 9:44 PM
Here's an organizational anti-pattern for you:
When executive demos are so high priority that they compromise operations and risk Sev1s.
Executive status updates should never outweigh what's best for customers.
This is a side-effect of Deadline Driven Development.
When executive demos are so high priority that they compromise operations and risk Sev1s.
Executive status updates should never outweigh what's best for customers.
This is a side-effect of Deadline Driven Development.
As the new leader of an established team…
Lead with curiosity & patience.
Listen more than you speak.
When you do speak, ask more questions than you answer.
For example: “I’ve seen X work elsewhere. Do you think that might work in our situation.”
Demonstrates both experience and humility.
Lead with curiosity & patience.
Listen more than you speak.
When you do speak, ask more questions than you answer.
For example: “I’ve seen X work elsewhere. Do you think that might work in our situation.”
Demonstrates both experience and humility.
November 14, 2025 at 7:22 AM
As the new leader of an established team…
Lead with curiosity & patience.
Listen more than you speak.
When you do speak, ask more questions than you answer.
For example: “I’ve seen X work elsewhere. Do you think that might work in our situation.”
Demonstrates both experience and humility.
Lead with curiosity & patience.
Listen more than you speak.
When you do speak, ask more questions than you answer.
For example: “I’ve seen X work elsewhere. Do you think that might work in our situation.”
Demonstrates both experience and humility.
Strangest thing happened today:
I received positive feedback regarding a presentation I gave from my boss (Sr. Dir.), their boss (VP), and their boss (SVP).
I mean, I didn’t make the burnout go away. But today was the first day since this project began that has felt like I’m on the right track.
I received positive feedback regarding a presentation I gave from my boss (Sr. Dir.), their boss (VP), and their boss (SVP).
I mean, I didn’t make the burnout go away. But today was the first day since this project began that has felt like I’m on the right track.
November 14, 2025 at 6:50 AM
Strangest thing happened today:
I received positive feedback regarding a presentation I gave from my boss (Sr. Dir.), their boss (VP), and their boss (SVP).
I mean, I didn’t make the burnout go away. But today was the first day since this project began that has felt like I’m on the right track.
I received positive feedback regarding a presentation I gave from my boss (Sr. Dir.), their boss (VP), and their boss (SVP).
I mean, I didn’t make the burnout go away. But today was the first day since this project began that has felt like I’m on the right track.
Did I mention that burnout is real?
Trying to use Systems Thinking to rearrange my life to mitigate or resolve the underlying issues. Came up with some ideas. Mostly around scheduling and delegation.
Still... I'm procrastinating. I'm avoiding that which is burning me out. And I'm not proud of it.
Trying to use Systems Thinking to rearrange my life to mitigate or resolve the underlying issues. Came up with some ideas. Mostly around scheduling and delegation.
Still... I'm procrastinating. I'm avoiding that which is burning me out. And I'm not proud of it.
November 13, 2025 at 6:05 AM
Did I mention that burnout is real?
Trying to use Systems Thinking to rearrange my life to mitigate or resolve the underlying issues. Came up with some ideas. Mostly around scheduling and delegation.
Still... I'm procrastinating. I'm avoiding that which is burning me out. And I'm not proud of it.
Trying to use Systems Thinking to rearrange my life to mitigate or resolve the underlying issues. Came up with some ideas. Mostly around scheduling and delegation.
Still... I'm procrastinating. I'm avoiding that which is burning me out. And I'm not proud of it.
Senior leader at my employer (paraphrased):
"Every line of code needs an owner. But owning a thing does not mean you have the capacity to work on it."
Yeah, sure — except when it breaks at 2am.
"Every line of code needs an owner. But owning a thing does not mean you have the capacity to work on it."
Yeah, sure — except when it breaks at 2am.
November 13, 2025 at 5:50 AM
Senior leader at my employer (paraphrased):
"Every line of code needs an owner. But owning a thing does not mean you have the capacity to work on it."
Yeah, sure — except when it breaks at 2am.
"Every line of code needs an owner. But owning a thing does not mean you have the capacity to work on it."
Yeah, sure — except when it breaks at 2am.
Practice stewardship over ownership.
Ownership is about possessing something.
Stewardship is about taking care of something.
Ownership is about possessing something.
Stewardship is about taking care of something.
November 13, 2025 at 5:13 AM
Practice stewardship over ownership.
Ownership is about possessing something.
Stewardship is about taking care of something.
Ownership is about possessing something.
Stewardship is about taking care of something.
Being a platform team leader often feels like running an orphanage. Other teams write code, then drop it on your doorstep and run - especially when they intended the code to be a "shared" component or service.
November 13, 2025 at 4:51 AM
Being a platform team leader often feels like running an orphanage. Other teams write code, then drop it on your doorstep and run - especially when they intended the code to be a "shared" component or service.
🎙️Hello? Is this thing on?
Hi! I'm Sparkles! ✨
I'm the outspoken alter-ego of an anonymous engineering leader, trying to get my bearings here on Bluesky.
I appreciate your engagement and want to reciprocate. Where can I find fellow engineering leaders talking about engineering leadership stuff?
Hi! I'm Sparkles! ✨
I'm the outspoken alter-ego of an anonymous engineering leader, trying to get my bearings here on Bluesky.
I appreciate your engagement and want to reciprocate. Where can I find fellow engineering leaders talking about engineering leadership stuff?
November 9, 2025 at 5:14 PM
🎙️Hello? Is this thing on?
Hi! I'm Sparkles! ✨
I'm the outspoken alter-ego of an anonymous engineering leader, trying to get my bearings here on Bluesky.
I appreciate your engagement and want to reciprocate. Where can I find fellow engineering leaders talking about engineering leadership stuff?
Hi! I'm Sparkles! ✨
I'm the outspoken alter-ego of an anonymous engineering leader, trying to get my bearings here on Bluesky.
I appreciate your engagement and want to reciprocate. Where can I find fellow engineering leaders talking about engineering leadership stuff?