Tech Lead is Becoming One of the Most Important Roles in Tech Due to GenAI
Recap of my talk at the Codemotion conference in Milan, Italy!
Intro
I had a great time at the Codemotion conference in Milan, Italy. It was a 2-day conference that started yesterday and finished today. It was really great meeting many like-minded people there.
And it’s really awesome to know that many of the people I met at the conference are also subscribers to the newsletter. Always a pleasure and really awesome meeting you!
I also had the pleasure to give a talk called: Tech Lead Rotation in Your Engineering Team.
The talk consisted of 2 core topics:
What is a Tech Lead, and why is it becoming one of the most popular roles in tech due to GenAI
Since the role is becoming increasingly important, I suggest a process called Tech Lead rotation.
And for the bonus, I also shared resources that I recommend for becoming a great Tech Lead in 2025 and beyond.
Here are a few pictures:
And today, I am doing a recap of the talk!
This is an article for paid subscribers, and here is the full index:
- What is a Tech Lead and What Do They Do?
- Differences Between a Software Engineer, Tech Lead (Senior+), Team Lead/EM
🔒 Tech Lead is Becoming an Increasingly Important Role due to GenAI
🔒 Engineers are Already Owning the What, Why, and When in Startups
🔒 2 Important Focus Areas for Engineers in GenAI World
🔒 What is a Tech Lead Rotation?
🔒 How does a Tech Lead Rotation Work?
🔒 Why Should You Do a Tech Lead Rotation Vs Having Just 1 Fixed Tech Lead?
🔒 1. People on the Team Feel Like They are Growing
🔒 2. Every Project is Different, and One Particular Engineer may be Better Suited to Lead a Certain Project
🔒 3. Knowledge is Shared Across the Team and Less Chances for Bottlenecks
🔒 This Has Worked Really Well for Me and My Teams
🔒 Last words
Let’s start!
What is a Tech Lead and What Do They Do?
Firstly, before we dive into why a Tech Lead role is becoming one of the most important roles in tech, it’s important to define what the role actually means.
The funny thing here is that if you were to ask 100 companies to define what a Tech Lead is, you’d get 100 different answers.
So, this picture below is on point :)
Now, let’s get to my definition of what a Tech Lead means to me.
A Tech Lead is someone who is responsible for the technical implementation of the specific project.
They create a technical specification, collaborate with a product manager on the planning of the project, and manage expectations of the project with the stakeholders.
Normally, they also estimate the effort that is going to be needed and provide the specific timeline, and also what the specific iterations of deliverables are going to be.
So, Tech Leads are basically the go-to people for the tech side of the project, and they are responsible for ensuring everything goes well.
It’s a totally different role than the role of a Software Engineer → you do a lot less coding and you act as a multiplier for others. Unblocking and helping others to progress and move forward with their tasks is what becomes very important.
Now, let’s head on to the differences between roles.
Differences Between a Software Engineer, Tech Lead (Senior+), Team Lead/EM
These are really great visual presentations of the main differences between roles and how each of the roles spends their time daily. Make sure to keep in mind that every company has the % differently, but this is the best estimation.
SWE and Tech Lead (Senior+):
EM/Team Lead and Tech Lead (Senior+):
People management and Technical direction:
Now that we know what a Tech Lead is and the differences between the roles, let’s head on to why a Tech Lead is becoming an increasingly important role in tech.
Tech Lead is Becoming an Increasingly Important Role due to GenAI
The main reason for this is: