The traits and pitfalls in Software Engineering careers

Over the years, I’ve seen software engineers grow from new hires to trusted technical leaders, but I have also witnessed many competent engineers stall out in their careers, stuck in patterns and behaviors that hold them back.

What separates those who thrive from those who plateau isn’t just technical skill, but a combination of habits and subtle pitfalls that shape their professional journey.

As individuals, we need to be intentional about our career growth, and as leaders, we must provide our teams with clear paths to progression. Yet we often lack a practical model or reference point for this development.

The following lists represent my personal perspective on what truly matters in the software engineering career journey. If you’re a Software Engineering Manager, I hope these traits and pitfalls help you assess your team during performance reviews and guide their skill development. If you’re a software engineer, you might recognize patterns in your own work and discover concrete ways to advance your career.

These are the key signals I look for, and the common traps I’ve seen catch even the most talented professionals.

Software Engineer

A competent Software Engineer independently delivers well-structured solutions to defined problems, collaborates effectively with teammates, and demonstrates solid technical judgment within their area of responsibility.

Traits

The typical characteristics of a software engineer.

• Proficient Coder: Writes clean, efficient, and testable code with minimal supervision.
• Debugging Skills: Independently troubleshoots issues across the stack.
• Basic System Design: Understands trade-offs in small-scale systems (e.g., database choices, API contracts).
• Tool Mastery: Comfortable with team workflows (version control, CI/CD, debugging tools).
• Team Player: Actively participates in code reviews, standups, and retrospectives.
• Task Ownership: Delivers medium-complexity features end-to-end.

Pitfalls

Common pitfalls that prevent a junior engineer from becoming a competent software engineer.

Technical Skills

• Shallow code reuse: Reusing code without understanding why it works, leading to fragile solutions.
• Over-engineering: Adding unnecessary complexity to prove skills.
• Testing neglect: Writing code without tests, assuming “it works on my machine”.
• Debugging dependency: Relying too heavily on seniors to solve tricky bugs instead of deep-diving.

Soft skills

• Silent struggling: Wasting time stuck on problems instead of asking for help early.
• Code review passivity: Approving PRs superficially, like “LGTM”, or not defending feedback constructively.
• Task focus: Focusing only on assigned tasks without understanding the bigger picture.
• Process subversion: Dismissing rituals, such as standups and retrospectives, as “overhead”, instead of leveraging them.
• Comfort zone stagnation: Only volunteering for tasks in known areas.

Senior Software Engineer

A Senior Software Engineer leads complex technical initiatives with minimal guidance, makes architectural decisions that balance technical and business needs, and actively mentors others while serving as a trusted technical authority within their team.

Traits

The typical characteristics of a senior software engineer.

• Technical Excellence: Deep expertise in their domain (coding, debugging, system design).
• Ownership: Accountable for projects end-to-end, including failures and maintenance.
• Problem-Solving: Breaks down ambiguous problems into actionable solutions.
• Mentorship: Guides junior engineers and fosters team growth.
• Communication: Articulates trade-offs clearly to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Autonomy: Solves complex problems independently but knows when to escalate.
• Code Quality Advocate: Ensures maintainability, testing, and scalability within their team.
• Collaborative Leadership: Coordinates work across teammates (e.g., reviews, design discussions).
• Tactical Decision-Making: Balances short-term deliverables with long-term tech debt.
• Domain Specialization: Deep knowledge of their team’s systems and product area.

Pitfalls

Common pitfalls that prevent a software engineer from becoming a senior software engineer.

Technical Skills

• Ignoring system design: Focusing solely on code without understanding broader architecture.
• Prioritizing speed over quality: Sloppy code, tech debt, or ignoring long-term impact.
• Stagnating technically: Not learning new tools, patterns, or domain knowledge.
• Staying in the execution zone: Only completing tasks without designing solutions or questioning requirements.

Soft skills

• Focusing only on technical skills: Neglecting leadership, communication, and mentorship.
• Underestimating communication: Not documenting work, explaining trade-offs, or aligning stakeholders.
• Avoiding collaboration: Working in isolation instead of influencing cross-team initiatives.
• Neglecting mentorship: Not helping junior engineers grow or share knowledge.
• Resisting feedback: Defensiveness instead of treating feedback as a growth opportunity.
• Not thinking proactively: Waiting for direction instead of spotting and solving problems early.
• Avoiding ownership: Not taking responsibility for projects end-to-end, including failures.

Staff Software Engineer

A Staff Software Engineer shapes technical strategy across teams, solves ambiguous problems with organization-wide impact, and influences engineering culture through technical leadership that extends beyond their immediate scope of work.

Traits

The typical characteristics of a staff software engineer.

• Strategic Vision: Aligns technical work with business goals.
• Influence Without Authority: Drives consensus across teams/orgs on high-impact initiatives.
• System-Level Thinking: Designs architectures that span multiple services/teams.
• Ambiguity Navigation: Thrives in unstructured problems with no clear “right” answer.
• Breadth Over Depth: Connects dots across domains (e.g., product, infra, security).

Pitfalls

Common pitfalls that prevent an engineer from becoming a staff software engineer.

Technical Skills

• Not thinking strategically: Failing to align work with business goals or long-term impact.
• Over-specializing: Lacking breadth in architecture, product, or domain knowledge.
• Prioritizing speed over quality: Sacrificing scalability, maintainability, or long-term value.

Soft Skills

• Poor stakeholder management: Inability to articulate trade-offs.
• Waiting for permission: Not taking initiative to drive projects or solve high-impact problems.
• Failing to delegate: Micromanaging instead of empowering others.
• Not adapting to ambiguity: Struggling with unstructured problems or unclear requirements.

Takeaways

Key takeaways for senior engineers seeking to become Staff Software Engineers

Believing they need to allocate time to identify opportunities.

To become an engineer who identifies business opportunities, one needs to develop situational awareness across the organization, actively listen to pain points expressed by colleagues, partners, and clients, and connect seemingly unrelated problems into larger patterns.

Finding opportunities isn’t a separate activity that requires dedicated time blocks — it emerges naturally from being deeply engaged with the work, maintaining curiosity about adjacent systems, and building relationships that reveal hidden challenges.

The most effective Staff Engineers don’t compartmentalize “finding time” but rather cultivate a continuous discovery mindset that operates in parallel with their technical contributions.