Most kids dream of being an astronaut or superhero when they grow up. Kenneth Riggio wanted to be a software engineer.
He achieved that dream in the ‘90s during the dot-com boom by working in both the startup world and with small companies. When the bubble burst, many software engineers weren’t sure what their best options were. But after networking with his contacts, going through a few rounds of interviews and accepting a career pivot, Riggio gained his first experience as an engineering manager at the world’s largest aerospace company, Boeing.
Riggio is now vice president of engineering at real estate software company Luxury Presence. He knows his career journey isn’t typical. For most software engineers, the path to becoming a people manager means learning new skills along the way, including soft skills like clear communication and compassion.
“Effective communication will raise a team’s productivity, keeping them focused and aligned on objectives while keeping morale high,” Riggio said.
So how do engineers effectively manage their team in a tech-heavy job? For Riggio, it’s a balance of mentorship, daily stand-ups and coding.
How did you become an engineering manager?
As a child, whenever anyone asked me, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” I responded with, “I want to be a software engineer.” This became a reality in the ‘90s, when I worked as a software engineer at small companies and startups on a variety of products.
When the dot-com boom ended, times looked bleak, but I was fortunate to have contacts from UC Riverside who worked at Boeing. I was hired as a software application architect, and by chance, I ended up at my dream job.
At Boeing, I had my first experience as an engineering manager, working with numerous software engineers and using influence and technical knowledge to effectively communicate the architecture wins and gain buy-in. Boeing also provided me with an opportunity to get a business degree. A few years later, I was asked by another colleague if I was open to managing a team. I said “yes,” and a new chapter in my career began.
What are your job responsibilities?
I am a strong technical mentor who assists with the architecture, design and implementation of various software components. I’m also a coach for team members who are looking to grow their professional careers. I monitor the software development process and pipeline to continuously improve the team’s capital efficiency. This may take the form of updated processes, improvements in DevOps or identifying areas of technical debt that we need to get rid of. I’m also building out our team by finding new engineers who will thrive on our team.
We start off with a daily stand-up with one of my offshore teams. I usually have an hour before my next stand-up with my local team. During that time, I work on hiring or catch up on emails or documentation I need to review. After our local team’s stand-up, I tackle blockers and ongoing discussions.
After lunch, given our small team, I get my hands dirty and write and review code. Meetings happen in the afternoon. The meetings might be one-on-ones or related to our Agile processes, such as grooming, planning or retrospective. After those meetings, I usually have a few hours to go back to one of the above items, where I am either tackling issues or I get to dive back into the code.
Compassion and understanding are imperative to long-term impact.”
What makes a good engineering manager?
Effective communication will raise a team’s productivity, keeping them focused and aligned on objectives while keeping morale high. Integrity builds trust and requires being mindful to promise only what you can deliver. Compassion and understanding are imperative to long-term impact. People must be accountable, but also understand that mistakes happen and your colleagues have responsibilities outside of the workplace.
Respect is earned, not given, and it can come in many forms: technical, managerial or respect for the characteristics discussed above. Without the respect of the team, it is hard to push them during difficult moments, and turnover is bound to increase.
