Does anyone here relate to this one: is there room...
# platform-culturep
Paolo Filippelli
05/14/2025, 1:33 PMDoes anyone here relate to this one: is there room in a Platform Team for someone that does not want to code anymore? That would be me, I fear 😄
Jokes aside, after decades spent in firefighting with code at different levels and wearing different hats, I understand that with "maturity" I feel less and less interested in being an "engineer".
I'm mostly interested in processes and people nowadays, and so this thought hunts me: can I find a role into the Platform Engineering space?
Probably something related to becoming a Product Owner in this field. Or maybe I could try to channel my career-wise experience into something like a Platform Architect, etc. etc.
Is anyone asking this same question or I'm alone? 🙂
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Justin Abrahms
05/14/2025, 1:37 PMTechnical program manager is another role.
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jonny s.
05/14/2025, 3:54 PMSo the big problem I've seen with almost every platform team I've talked to is that the platform engineers do not talk to their customers, the product engineers.
jonny s.
05/14/2025, 3:55 PM(I mean, that's not uncommon for any sort of software engineering to not talk to their customers, but it's kinda ridic since the platform engineer's customers are, like, two desks over)
jonny s.
05/14/2025, 3:56 PMAt my last platform engineering gig, I demanded we hire a PM for the team, and it was so very hard to find someone that fit the bill
jonny s.
05/14/2025, 3:56 PMWhile most PMs are able to learn about the business their software solves, it's much more difficult to do that for platform software, as the users are gonna be very technical
jonny s.
05/14/2025, 3:57 PMSo you'd be a perfect fit for that role
jonny s.
05/14/2025, 3:57 PMThat said, most platform teams don't see the lack customer communication as a problem, so idk how many companies are hiring for that role. ðŸ«
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Paolo Filippelli
05/15/2025, 6:56 AMAnd that seems a great problem to me, as customers' feedback (by stakeholders in general) should be a primary drive in any product initiative, shouln't it?
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Sean Kellett
05/20/2025, 8:29 AMHi Paolo, I was in a similar situation to you, moving on from software development. I moved into platform product management (and now consulting) because I was sick of seeing great work by platform developers hidden behind old IT processes. These old processes meant users (like me!) would queue for weeks (sometimes months) to access technology to build applications or solutions. This really annoyed me, and I wanted to fix it, so that's what I do now. Maybe that is similar to your interest in processes and people?
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Paolo Filippelli
05/21/2025, 7:59 AMHi Sean, something similar...with time passing I feel mostly interested in how to harness value from ongoing processes, by leveraging people and helping them to get the most out of their work. It's a tough call, I'm by no means an expert at doing it...value stream mapping etc. etc. are new things for me, on the other hand I'm confident on the tech side. Platform Engineering in a more "managerial" role seems a more natural fit at this time. 🙂