Welcome to The Engineering Leader

Leadership in engineering isn’t just about managing tasks—it’s about inspiring people, building bridges between teams, and delivering meaningful results.

The Engineering Leader offers real-world insights, actionable advice, and a touch of humor to help you lead with clarity, impact, and confidence.

Who Is The Engineering Leader For?

This newsletter is designed for:

  • Software Engineers aiming to grow into leadership roles—whether as Team Leads, Engineering Managers, or Staff and Principal Engineers.

  • Team Leads and Engineering Managers seeking fresh perspectives and actionable strategies for maximum impact.

  • Founders and Leaders looking to scale their engineering teams and build high-performance organizations.

  • Anyone who loves a good mix of humor, relatable stories, and pragmatism in engineering and leadership topics.

You're in the right place if you want to lead projects, teams, or organizations that drive growth, foster innovation, and achieve exceptional outcomes.

Who Am I?

The Engineering Leader is written by Rafa Páez.

Rafa is a Senior Engineering Leader with over 20 years of experience in the software industry. Over the past 7+ years, I’ve specialized in leading and scaling engineering platforms and teams across multiple unicorn startups in dynamic remote environments.

Connect with me on LinkedIn, Twitter, Bluesky, Substack, YouTube and rafapaez.com.

My Best Issues

Still not sure if The Engineering Leader is for you?

Here are some of my most-read issues—so you can decide for yourself!

By subscribing to The Engineering Leader, you're not just supporting my work—you’re also becoming part of a thriving community of like-minded professionals eager to learn, share, and grow together.

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The leading weekly newsletter trusted by hundreds of Software Engineers, Managers, and Leaders to accelerate their careers and drive impact.

People

Senior Engineering Leader. Sharing insights from 20+ years of experience. I’ve scaled platforms and teams at unicorn startups in remote environments. I enjoy helping others accelerate their careers.