Strategize Your Career

Feedback Without Drama. A Practical Feedback Playbook

A practical guide on how to give feedback to software engineers using identity safe scripts, consensus building moves, and incident templates. Includes…

Oct 5 • 

Fran Soto

15

September 2025

20k engineers, 110 posts, 11 templates: what we’re building next

Most engineers lose time in tickets and Slack. Use these templates to save hours weekly and show proof for your next raise.

Sep 28 • 

Fran Soto

18

2

The best blogs about AI that engineers actually read

Best blogs about AI for engineers: a practitioner-curated list with links, a credibility checklist, and a simple routine to turn reading into results…

Sep 21 • 

Fran Soto

31

3

How Software Engineers Make Productive Decisions (without slowing the team down)

Engineers stall by overthinking reversible choices. Learn a simple 3-question filter to move faster, avoid bottlenecks, and grow your career

Sep 14 • 

Fran Soto

42

2

This 5-minute daily habit made me a productive software engineer in Big Tech

For the software engineer who feels busy but not productive: here is the 5-minute daily routine I used at Amazon to make a huge impact. This isn't just…

Sep 7 • 

Fran Soto

61

4

August 2025

Stop trying to be the best at one thing. Do skill-stacking and become a T-shaped developer instead

Most engineers stall as generalists or specialists. Learn why the T-shaped skill stack is the career growth solution top tech companies reward.

Aug 31 • 

Fran Soto

37

5

2025 guide to Context Engineering for Software Engineers

How context engineering techniques like RAG, tuning the system prompt, web search, and MCP tools create a big impact, backed by experience (I share my…

Aug 24 • 

Fran Soto

46

5

Prompt Engineering vs Spec Engineering. Coding with AI like a Senior Engineer in Big Tech

Reduce mistakes and hallucinations from vibe coding (Prompt Engineering) by adopting "Spec-Driven Development". Get better at coding with AI, prompt…

Aug 17 • 

Fran Soto

71

5

Write a postmortem like a Senior Engineer

Turn postmortems into leadership signals with this guide and template. Show impact, boost visibility, and accelerate your engineering career.

Aug 10 • 

Fran Soto

32

🏆You only need 4 promotions: The step-by-step guide from Junior to Staff+ engineer

Stuck in your engineering career? Learn why coding more isn't the answer and how to grow your influence and impact to get promoted at every level.

Aug 3 • 

Fran Soto

33

1

July 2025

📛 Why most engineers fail at knowledge sharing (6 habits that make you stand out)

Most engineers fail at knowledge sharing, hurting their growth. Learn 6 habits to share knowledge like a senior and stand out in your team.

Jul 27 • 

Fran Soto

39

4

▪️◼️⬛ How to scale a relational database

Relational DBs struggle at scale. This guide helps you choose the right strategy, from indexing to sharding, without overengineering too soon.

Jul 20 • 

Fran Soto

31

2