One non-technical skill I think is becoming incredibly important for software engineers right now is product sense.
Or put another way: knowing what “good” looks like.
In a lot of big tech environments (as many of you already know), engineers operate inside a heavy process: Product managers define the features, create a 6 month roadmap, and engineers implement the system without much input on the product.
But as software gets easier and faster to build (something something AI) we can start to see a world where engineers need to own the whole product development loop to move faster.
Engineers who understand what users actually want, what makes a product feel polished, which features matter and which don't, and what NOT to build are becoming dramatically more valuable.
When you know what good looks like, you can move fast without waiting for someone else to tell you what to do.
I also recorded a short video about how this trend is changing the structure of software teams and why we may see more companies with smaller engineering teams in the future.
You can watch it here: https://youtu.be/e8JwtEbIHNM
I’ll be hanging around SXSW in Austin next week, if you see me feel free to say hi!
Best,
Arjay