Engineering teams are often depicted as highly technical and siloed. Laptops in hand, monitors filled with code, engineers perform magic behind the scenes that power everything from basic features to product rollouts.
Engineering culture, therefore, is often thought of as a similar monolith. But in reality, its organizations encompass a wide range of internal structure, size and function across vastly different industries.
Some even work on projects that are out of this world.
Engineers at aerospace tech firm Honeybee Robotics are experts in their field. For Engineering Director Zach Mank, that makes his team one of the company’s greatest products, reflected in the work they do that’s rarely seen elsewhere. Such specialized ideation and knowledge spark excitement for the team, a key aspect of employee engagement Mank tries to cultivate.
“After all, no one has sampled ice from permanently shadowed craters at the Moon’s poles before or delivered a piece of Titan’s surface to a mass spectrometer,” he explained. “It’s not something that you can take classes on while you’re in school.”
To build a culture conducive to such complex problem-solving, Mank realized the importance of building meaningful relationships throughout the organization. This involves fostering collaborations with the project team, setting the right management practices and creating an open forum for knowledge exchange.
Though their products might differ, other tech companies adopt similar ethos toward helping engineers own their roles and duties. Accounting tech platform FloQast places emphasis on building a diverse team, while e-commerce logistics firm Flowspace strives toward open communication. In the medical apparel space, Jaanuu uses consumer-centric goals to power innovation and experimentation.
Engineers thrive when they’re given the freedom to explore the technical depths of their work, while being included in a team-forward environment. To get a closer snapshot, Built In sat down with all four leaders to see how a foundation of rich collaboration and employee engagement is laid for each unique engineering culture.
Honeybee Robotics specializes in the end-to-end development of unique robotic systems for the most extreme environments in the solar system. Part of the Blue Origin aerospace family, the company works on ambitious ideas and the cutting-edge of space missions, with a pedigree that stretches back to its first NASA contract in 1986.
What are three words you’d use to describe your engineering team culture? And what does that look like in action?
In building a team full of world-class talent, the only way that it can be successful is to be highly collaborative. There’s no shortage of opportunities to make meaningful impacts on the project you’re a part of. Almost all our engineers are involved in the project’s full life cycle. This includes design and analyses, presenting results to customers in reviews, procuring parts, putting them together, running tests and interpreting results.
The impact is radical ownership that allows our people to point to their project on the Moon, Mars or Titan and really mean it when they say, “I did that.” Knowing you’re on the cutting-edge of space exploration makes it easy to stay excited about the work you’re doing. Pair that excitement with opportunities for career development, genuine ownership over your contributions and a collaborative environment surrounded by inspiring peers — a team culture of exuberance naturally follows.
The impact is radical ownership that allows our people to point to their project on the Moon, Mars or Titan and really mean it when they say, ‘I did that.’”
As a leader, how have you worked to cultivate this type of culture?
Once Covid-19 happened, we knew we had to become very intentional about maintaining our collaborative culture. We identified three types of relational goals, then integrated them into our organizational flow and project approach.
The first key relationship is the project team — the people who work on solving technical problems together. Although this collaborative relationship occurs most naturally, we still invest time in honing the skills of technical leads and program managers. The focus is on proactive communication: setting clear deadlines and encouraging questions and input.
The second type is management practices. Honeybee has a matrixed organizational structure. This recognizes different skills are needed when managing people versus when managing projects. Keeping management groups small allows for more productive and consistent conversations.
The third type of key relationship is the community of practice, open forums that bring people on projects in the same domain together for recurring technical interchanges. This helps to ensure no one is stuck reinventing the wheel and that people and their areas of expertise are visible to peers.
What are some ways this culture sets the engineers on your team up for success and allows them to grow and thrive in their careers?
When you look at our headcount or the projects we’re winning, it’s clear that Honeybee is a growing company. But we’re also committed to growing ideas and people. Our projects in flight are usually products of years of collaborative effort, frequently starting as a napkin sketch or a group brainstorming. So much of our work is bespoke one-offs that it’s fair to say that the engineering process is one of our greatest products.
Honeybee recognizes our work is creating de facto experts. It’s something we fully lean into to retain that talent — we recognize skill sets and interests evolve over time. Someone who started as an individual contributor can make a rockstar program manager. Mentorship and developmental frameworks to support a variety of different career paths are readily available, and so are the actual project opportunities to hone those skills over time. Honeybee is committed to promoting internally to realize that growth.
FloQast is a platform built to automate accounting teams’ workflows. With features such as automatic reconciliations and document requests that facilitate accounting operations, the company helps corporate clients streamline the audit process and close books efficiently.
What are three words you’d use to describe your engineering team culture? And what does that look like in action?
Collaboration, innovation and inclusion.
We’ve deliberately built a team with diverse backgrounds and skill sets. It creates a culture where healthy conversation and discussion is the norm, allowing us to approach our work more proactively and thoughtfully. Sometimes, the obvious answers aren’t necessarily the right ones. Having diverse voices and experiences present allows the team to use their collective perspectives to develop the solution that best fits FloQast and our users.
As a leader, how have you worked to cultivate this type of culture?
Since actions speak louder than words, I have tried to set an example for the team and serve as a role model. We’ve tried to build a culture where the team is the priority over the individual, which naturally fosters collaboration and proactivity. I encourage team members to innovate solutions by embracing failures and awarding successes, no matter how small or large they may be. Lastly, I feel it’s important that everyone has the freedom to express their ideas. Everyone is different, and some people might not be comfortable speaking up at times. So creating an avenue to allow everyone to express their thoughts is vital to our team’s success.
We’ve tried to build a culture where the team is the priority over the individual, which naturally fosters collaboration and proactivity.”
What are some ways this culture sets the engineers on your team up for success and allows them to grow and thrive in their careers?
First, being inquisitive and innovative positions them for individual and team success. That is why encouraging conversation and allowing room for everyone to communicate their thoughts and feelings is so important.
Second, having a diverse team with numerous backgrounds and skill sets can bring a wide variety of ideas to the table. This will only be possible if we support and include them in conversations.
For instance, an engineer on my team rarely spoke during team discussions because the team and company were new to him. I started including him in conversations on purpose, and after a while, he began to contribute and realize that we value his opinions. His curiosity increased due to inclusion, and he started preparing for meetings, which aided his professional success. Overall it’s a virtuous cycle.
Flowspace is an e-commerce logistics company that operates a nationwide fulfillment network. Its OmniFlow software gives companies control over their operations, offering a real-time look at inventory status and order fulfillment activities.
What are three words you’d use to describe your engineering team culture? And what does that look like in action?
I find that the most impactful engineering teams are passionate, impact-driven and customer-obsessed. These attributes are often by-products of an extremely open culture — one that is transparent, inclusive and collaborative.
In action, an open engineering team culture is one where we explore new ideas; seek out feedback and criticism; listen to each other and learn from each other. We stay close to our stakeholders, customers and our teammates.
I find that the most impactful engineering teams are passionate, impact-driven and customer-obsessed.”
As a leader, how have you worked to cultivate this type of culture?
My team and its leaders employ strategies and tactics to make openness a key part of our culture.
We practice and promote active listening, ride-alongs with employees in other departments and customer site visits. We share perspectives on important technical and non-technical decisions, and always encourage feedback, be it verbal, written, synchronous or asynchronous — whatever is most effective for the giver. We always push for feedback to be shared in a timely manner, which is easiest and the most effective.
We seek to operationalize openness by reducing friction to participate in code reviews, agile retrospectives, post-mortems and lunch-and-learns. We also promote broad participation in architecture design reviews.
Finally, we are transparent. This means clear publication of goals and roadmap, early warning when goals are at risk and surfacing important assumptions or hidden complexities to each other and your stakeholders.
What are some ways this culture sets the engineers on your team up for success and allows them to grow and thrive in their careers?
Engineering career ladders — including individual contributor and manager tracks — require broad leadership, scope and influence, as well as continuous improvement and evolution. This requires openness and a growth mindset.
For example, an engineer I worked with long ago received feedback that he was introducing bugs that should have been easy to catch. He addressed it, reviewed his code more carefully and to this day is known for extremely high quality output.
I’ve also seen several engineers move into management roles, only to decide fairly quickly that it’s not for them. By being open to feedback along the way, these leaders learned about what gives them energy and how they want to build their career, and also gained an appreciation for their teammates who do manage employees.
From learning about new tech and best practices, to encouraging experimentation and finding right-fit solutions, to collaborative problem solving, facilitating tough conversations and driving alignment, these simple acts of offering and being open to feedback can lead to long-term career growth.
Jaanuu is a medical apparel company that sells professional scrubs and other healthcare uniforms. Boasting a contemporary style and antimicrobial-finished products, the company is innovating a niche but essential aspect of the healthcare field.
What are three words you’d use to describe your engineering team culture? And what does that look like in action?
Collaborative. Our engineering team values open communication, teamwork and relationship-building. Daily interactions, like pair programming and brainstorming meetings, are complemented by social activities like virtual happy hours and occasional in-person bonding. We start Monday standups with highlights from our weekends, sharing the best meals, books or movies, as well as upcoming plans. This helps create a stronger cohesive team dynamic.
Our team is also innovative. We strive to stay at the cutting edge of technology and industry trends. Our team is encouraged to research, experiment and share new ideas and tools that can help improve our products and processes. This commitment is shown in our regular tech talks and investment in personal growth and learning opportunities.
Finally, we’re customer-centric. At the core, we focus on the needs and experiences of our customers. We understand that our products and services directly impact the lives of medical professionals, so we prioritize user feedback and data-driven insights to enhance our offerings. Usability tests, customer feedback analysis and key metrics monitoring ensure our medical scrubs, apparel and accessories consistently meet and exceed expectations.
As a leader, how have you worked to cultivate this type of culture?
For open communication, I’ve established channels for team members to express their ideas, concerns and feedback. I try to communicate the reasoning behind our work and its impact on the company and customers. I encourage healthy debates and challenges to decisions, fostering an ownership mentality. I see engineers as more than just task-completers, incorporating them into collaborative exchanges across functions.
For professional development, I facilitate continuous learning through educational resources, conferences and mentorship programs, fostering innovation and staying ahead of industry trends.
I introduce team-building activities and social events, both virtually and in person, for relationship-building. These gatherings help strengthen relationships and promote a sense of unity, crucial for a remote team.
To prioritize the customer, we champion user feedback and data-driven decision-making to remain focused on delivering high-quality products and experiences.
Finally, I lead by example. I actively participate in collaboration, stay curious about new technologies and maintain a customer focus, setting the tone for the team and inspiring everyone to contribute to our culture.
I see engineers as more than just task-completers, incorporating them into collaborative exchanges across functions.”
What are some ways this culture sets the engineers on your team up for success and allows them to grow and thrive in their careers?
Our focus on continuous learning helps engineers acquire new skills and stay current with industry trends, fostering career growth.
Our encouragement of cross-functional collaboration broadens the understanding of the business, enhances problem-solving abilities, and creates opportunities to build relationships and take on new responsibilities.
Our culture of transparency and open dialogue allows engineers to voice their opinions, ask questions and seek guidance. This value promotes personal growth and a sense of ownership in their work, leading to increased confidence and career advancement.
One of our lead developers had a strong background in back-end development but saw an opportunity to expand his skill set into DevOps by leading our cloud infrastructure migration to AWS. Our culture of continuous learning and collaboration allowed him to work closely with the DevOps team, gain valuable insights and take charge of the project. As a result, he not only successfully completed the migration, but also grew into a more versatile team member, contributing to the company’s technical capabilities and success.
