Software Engineering · IC to Staff · IC to Management · Compensation
The engineers who plateau aren't the weakest technically.
Technical skills get you in the room. Everything after that - how you're perceived, how you negotiate, how you position yourself for staff or principal roles - is a different game. One that most engineers were never taught to play.
What nobody tells engineers about career growth.
Most engineers assume that doing excellent technical work will eventually get them to staff, principal, or management. It won't - at least not reliably. Promotion decisions at senior levels are made by people who are evaluating judgment, influence, and organizational impact, not just code quality.
René Cole has spent two decades on the hiring side of engineering talent decisions. She knows what distinguishes the engineers who advance from those who plateau - and it's almost never technical skill. It's visibility, narrative, and knowing how to make your impact legible to the people who make decisions.
Whether you're targeting staff/principal, considering the management track, or trying to maximize your compensation at your next move, the strategy has to be deliberate. Hoping to be noticed is not a plan.
What we work on together
IC to Staff / Principal
Understanding what the promotion criteria actually mean at your company, building the evidence base, and making your impact visible to the people who decide.
IC to Engineering Manager
A deliberate identity transition - not just a title change. How to establish authority, build the narrative, and manage the shift without the credibility dip most engineers fear.
Compensation & Negotiation
FAANG and high-growth startup offers have specific dynamics. René knows where the real leverage is and how to use it - base, equity, refresh schedules, competing offers.
Frequently asked questions
Can a career coach really help a software engineer? Isn't it all about technical skills?
Technical skills get you in the room. Everything else - how you communicate, how you're perceived, how you negotiate, how you position yourself for staff or principal roles - determines what happens once you're there. The engineers who plateau are almost never the weakest technically.
How do I move from IC to engineering manager without losing my technical credibility?
The transition requires a deliberate identity shift, not just a title change. You need to be seen as someone who multiplies others, not just someone who ships code. René will help you build the narrative, identify the right moment, and manage the transition without the credibility dip most engineers fear.
My resume keeps getting filtered out by ATS. What's wrong?
Usually one of three things: keyword mismatch, formatting that breaks parsing, or a summary that doesn't signal seniority clearly. We'll rebuild your resume from a recruiter's perspective - one that passes the algorithm and compels the human who reads it next.
How do I negotiate a FAANG or high-growth startup offer?
These negotiations have specific dynamics - base vs. equity vs. signing, refresh schedules, competing offers, and the leverage window. René has coached engineers through offers at major tech companies and knows where the real room to negotiate exists and how to use it without blowing the offer.