Joining a FAANG company as a Senior Engineer may not be what you expect, with complex internal tool landscapes and processes to navigate.
Senior engineers spend only about 20% of their time writing code, with the rest devoted to meetings, documentation, reviews, planning, and navigating internal politics.
FAANG companies may have flat hierarchies on paper, but there exists a complex web of unofficial power structures impacting roles and responsibilities within teams.
Metrics that drive business success often outweigh innovative technical solutions, shifting the focus towards tangible impact rather than architectural elegance.
At FAANG, incremental wins are valued over large-scale rewrites, emphasizing the importance of making small, impactful improvements over time.
The ability to communicate the business value of technical work is crucial, with storytelling often trumping the actual implementation in terms of recognition and success.
Building relationships with leadership, focusing on force multiplication, and strategic decision-making such as learning to say no are essential skills for success in senior roles at FAANG.
Specializing in a niche area, developing expertise, and finding your unique value proposition within the company can set you apart and increase your impact at a FAANG organization.
Despite the challenges, working at a FAANG company offers opportunities for scale, impact, learning, career growth, and human impact stories that can be immensely rewarding.
While the role may not align with initial expectations, adapting to the unique demands of a FAANG senior engineering position can lead to unparalleled skill development and satisfaction in making widespread impact.