Scaling an engineering team doesn’t happen overnight. Rather, according to FASHIONPHILE Engineering Manager Jonathan McNeil, it’s a gradual, iterative process with many moving parts.
In McNeil’s mind, healthy growth doesn’t always come down to one single action. Rather, it can involve various steps, such as procuring more AWS resources and implementing site-wide caching.
Yet this isn’t the only way to enact change on a tech team. Anduril Software Engineer Spencer Fishman said data is the cornerstone of his team’s ability to scale. When problems arise in the growth process, he and his teammates can leverage their own set of information to fix issues and develop sustainable solutions.
According to Fishman, scale hasn’t just caused an effect on a teamwide level. As the company’s technology has become more complex, he’s had to evolve his own work as well.
“My role has transformed, enabling me to help teams collaborate in order to combine various subsystems and yield one cohesive product,” Fishman said.
While revamped tool boxes and shifting responsibilities are important, so are the individuals tasked with leveraging them. First Resonance Product Engineer Matt Emerzian said the company’s engineering teams have grown easily thanks to both the character of his peers and their technical chops.
“Their teams are as humble as they are talented, which minimizes friction,” he said.
For McNeil, Fishman and Emerzian, successful scaling requires preparation, strategy and strong team members. Built In LA caught up with each of them to garner their insight on engineering team growth and discuss exciting projects coming down their team’s pipelines.
First Resonance’s platform is designed to support rapid engineering and manufacturing iteration, tracking parts and processes from prototype to full-scale production.
What is driving your team’s rapid expansion?
Our product team is currently small, but we’ve been rapidly expanding our engineering team, which has grown more than five times its original size over the past year. The engineering team’s growth has been fueled by customer and product expansion, and we’re looking forward to continuing to scale in order to more effectively support our customers.
What has the process of scaling been like on your team?
Scaling our engineering team has been a surprisingly smooth, ongoing process. Our first two engineering hires have done an excellent job and set a high standard in terms of both character and technical acumen. Additionally, the company relies heavily on written documentation, which has improved the onboarding process for new team members.
We’re looking forward to continuing to scale in order to more effectively support our customers.”
What project are you most excited to tackle over the next few months?
We have a number of projects that I’m excited to tackle. For instance, we’re currently building a low-code logic engine, which is designed to embrace the uniqueness of factories’ operations.
Anduril develops various military defense products, ranging from air systems to underwater vehicles.
What has changed as your team has grown?
All of our products perform unique functions and require dedicated application software. My team is responsible for the unique behaviors of our autonomous flight product, Ghost. As Ghost has become solidified and more complex, my team has started facing challenges mostly related to systems integration.
What has the process of scaling been like on your team?
Scaling can be painful. You can rely on previous experiences and expertise to gauge possible pain points, yet your team will only understand where to invest once growth actually happens. My team is always in the process of scaling, and we’ve encountered several aha moments along the way. Data is the cornerstone of our ability to scale. Knowledge is half the battle, so when issues arise, we have a large repository of information at our disposal to understand the problems and develop sustainable solutions.
Data is the cornerstone of our ability to scale.”
What project are you most excited to tackle over the next few months?
In some ways, I consider scaling to be the most exciting project. Also, it’s fulfilling to simply see our products being used by customers. In terms of technological transformation, we have some exciting modifications in the works, which are intended to expand Ghost’s capabilities in various ways.
FASHIONPHILE’s platform offers consumers access to pre-owned, ultra-luxury items.
What has changed as your team has grown?
I’m an engineering manager on our search and discovery team. My team is responsible for helping customers find the right products on our site. As the company grows, our technology has to evolve alongside it, so my team has launched various projects to facilitate this expansion, including a complete site overhaul.
From your perspective, what goes into the process of scaling?
Scaling doesn’t happen instantly. Rather, it’s a gradual, iterative process. Growth involves various actions, from procuring more AWS resources and implementing site-wide caching to improving processes and optimizing images. Overall, it’s an organizationwide process with many moving parts and challenges.
Scaling doesn’t happen instantly. Rather, it’s a gradual, iterative process.”
What project are you most excited to tackle over the next few months?
I’m most excited for my team to find ways to deliver unique customer experiences, which we plan to accomplish by recommending products based on users’ search and purchase history. We’re committed to tackling this project over the next few months.
