A curated list of resources that keep me learning. I’m a Senior Data Engineer exploring the edges of growth — whether that’s toward Staff, EM, or just becoming more effective where I am. These are grouped by the topics I keep coming back to.
Growth & career direction
Thinking clearly about what changes as you move beyond Senior — focus, impact, and choosing the right wall to lean the ladder against.
| Resource | Author | Why I follow |
|---|---|---|
| High Growth Engineer | Jordan Cutler | Grounded, specific takes on what actually shifts at the Staff level. |
| The Caring Techie | Irina Stanescu | Honest career guidance — one of my favorite weekend reads. |
| Engineering Leadership | Gregor Ojstersek | Continuous source of reflection on seniority, trust, and growth. |
Worth reading: Operating Principles That Guided Me to Staff Engineer — Jordan Cutler | The Missing Ingredient in Your Ambitious Goals: Macro Focus — Irina Stanescu | 5 Skills to Develop to Grow From Senior to Staff Engineer — Gregor Ojstersek
Leadership & building trust
How to lead well, create psychological safety, and avoid the patterns that quietly erode a team’s confidence.
| Resource | Author | Why I follow |
|---|---|---|
| The Caring Techie | Irina Stanescu | Practical, empathetic leadership thinking — not just theory. |
| Engineering Leadership | Gregor Ojstersek | Covers the human side of engineering leadership that most newsletters skip. |
Worth reading: Why People Start Doubting Themselves at Work — Irina Stanescu | Saying “I Don’t Know” Is a Sign of Seniority — Gregor Ojstersek
Engineering culture & pragmatic insights
Deep conversations with experienced engineers. Lessons you don’t find in docs.
| Resource | Author | Why I follow |
|---|---|---|
| The Pragmatic Engineer | Gergely Orosz | Newsletter and podcast. Interviews that surface hard-won, real-world lessons. |
| ByteByteGo | Alex Xu | System design explained clearly, with great visuals. |
Worth watching: Vibe Coding with Addy Osmani | Developer Productivity with Dr. Nicole Forsgren
AI-assisted development
Working smarter with AI tools — agents, workflows, and the habits that make them useful.
| Resource | Author | Why I follow |
|---|---|---|
| The Pragmatic Engineer | Gergely Orosz | Covers the AI-in-practice angle without the hype. |
| Addy Osmani’s blog | Addy Osmani | Thoughtful takes on AI-assisted coding workflows. |
Data engineering & technical depth
Staying sharp on the technical side — applied, immediately useful content.
| Resource | Author | Why I follow |
|---|---|---|
| Vu Trinh’s newsletter | Vu Trinh | One of the most productive data engineering creators. Every issue has something I can apply. |
| Marco Gorelli | Marco Gorelli | Open source work on Polars and Narwhals. Conference talks are energetic and packed with insight. |
Worth reading: I spent 8 hours learning Parquet. Here’s what I discovered — Vu Trinh
Structured learning & discovery
Depth when I need it, curation when I don’t.
| Resource | Notes |
|---|---|
| Pluralsight | My main learning platform, year after year. |
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