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Presentation: The Socio-Technical Staff+ Engineer: Architecture, Culture and Organisational Change

Vanessa Formicola shares how technical leaders can move beyond "wishful architecture" by practicing holistic socio-technical engineering. She discusses why engineering leaders must account for organizational maturity, reward structures, geopolitical climate, and team dynamics, framing the staff-plus role as designing the conditions for technology to thrive rather than just picking tools. By…

Title: The Socio-Technical Staff+ Engineer: Architecture, Culture, and Organizational Change

Vanessa Formicola, an Engineering Leader and Sociotechnical Architect with 15+ years of experience in big tech, consulting at Thoughtworks, and Flo Health, shares her insights on being a socio-technical staff-plus engineer. She discusses the importance of considering organizational maturity, reward structures, geopolitical climate, and team dynamics when designing the conditions for technology to thrive.

Formicola argues that staff-plus engineers should shift their focus from being the builders of something to being the landscape architects who understand the conditions necessary for growth. She provides examples of how trying to force a technology into an environment that is not suited for it can lead to undesirable outcomes, emphasizing the need for a more holistic approach to engineering.

Written by urgent.news from InfoQ's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.

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