Engineering competencies v2: a new suite of competencies are now available, view them here or read the FAQ to understand more about this change.

FAQ - Operations

Progression within Individual contributor roles can be achieved through the promotion process. Those choosing to pursue a People Manager role must demonstrate the competences and experience necessary, and complete a successful interview when a specific business need/role is available.

What does Individual Contributor mean?

In FT Technology, an Individual Contributor is someone who doesn’t manage any other staff, and contributes as an engineer to teams, projects, and other initiatives. The distinction being made is the difference between someone who is a contributor to a team vs. someone who is a manager of a team, a People Manager.

What does People Manager mean?

In FT Technology, People Manager is someone who manages and develops staff and has the responsibility of managing how the team operates.

What does it mean for me? Is my job changing?

These changes just clarify what is expected of you in your role. The new competencies are designed to help you form objectives and a professional development plan, together with your manager. There are no changes to terms and conditions, or your assignments, unless your manager has already discussed this with you.

I work as part of a shift rota - does that change as a result of being an Individual Contributor?

Your responsibilities to the rota and the team remain unchanged, being an an Individual Contributor just means that you do not line manage people. As stated above, all other aspects to your role are the same as before.

When does this change take effect, and what happens now as a result?

The new competencies are live now - feel free to review and feedback any questions or comments with your People Manager.

Have Ops introduced the Senior Engineer 2 Individual Contributor Role like Engineering?

No, this is a role that we’ve had in Operations for some time now.

Currently there are two people in the team in Manila performing this role and in the past we have had people perform this role in the UK.

As a Senior Engineer 2 (Individual Contributor) a time may come when I have reached the top of my level - where would I go from there ?

As part of your ongoing development we encourage you to continually improve, take on new skills, accommodate secondments (where feasible) and get involved in projects that are of interest to you and benefit to the FT.

Due to team size and structure, progression opportunities are dependent upon available roles, however we will always encourage opportunities within other teams when we can.

Why is there no Principal Engineer (Individual Contributor) in Operations?

This level of expertise isn’t necessary within Operations, it’s a small team, and positions like this typically sit outside of Operations. For example, the Principal Engineer in Edge Delivery and Observability defines the strategic direction for our monitoring platforms.

What’s the difference in the career path now, compared with before?

As part of this exercise we have defined the roles that exist and the paths that are available to people.

As the Operations team is a small team with different skillsets from the rest of the department our structure is more linear. Progression is generally achieved by gaining new skills and expertise within each band and through promotion.

I think I have all the competencies for the next level - can I be promoted now?

It’s important that you continue to have conversations with your manager about your readiness for promotion. Building a promotions case is based upon a number of ingredients of which developing your repertoire of competencies is one of them.

What if engineers want to become People Managers, how can they develop relevant experience before they apply?

All roles require staff to demonstrate their leadership skills - such as communication, teamwork, curiosity and learning, and leadership of themselves and others. Even without a People Manager title or role, it is possible for people to take on a leading role within their team, to demonstrate they are capable of taking responsibility for projects or initiatives and to encourage others to participate in a collaborative effort toward a common goal. (This is often in a “tech lead” capacity, and is as a result of an assignment - but could be a project or other initiative.) Everyone can and should mentor others, whether formally or informally within a team, in order to help others onboard, understand a new domain or project, and to improve their skills and competencies as an engineer. The updated competencies provide guidance to staff for their development.

Are these competencies for use in 360 feedback?

We expect People Managers to use the updated competencies to give feedback to employees, set new development objectives and manage performance. Employees should refer to the progression framework when evaluating their own progress, and we hope the language used is helpful for everyone to better describe performance, behaviours and the impact on business outcomes and teams.

Will this make it easier to get a promotion?

No. This change creates more choice for career planning, and makes it clearer what is required to progress. Promotions remain constrained by the shape of our teams (business need) and available budget.

How can I provide feedback about the competency framework?

Please speak with your own manager, any Tech Director or Rebecca if you have questions - or suggestions to improve - the competencies or any materials we’re using to communicate them. You can also use GitHub issues (remember these are public) or the #engineering-progression-framework slack channel.