Onboarding | Repo Management
Table of Contents
Introduction
Welcome to Sourcegraph and Repo Management! We are all excited to have you join the team. You will spend the next few months learning a lot, meeting new people, and delivering value to our customers. Don’t worry if it feels like a lot to learn; we’re all here to help at any time. Repo Management, like the rest of Sourcegraph, is predicated on High Agency: you have our full support to take ownership over your onboarding and the team.
This onboarding guide will provide the frame and you will paint the rest of the picture as time goes on. Don’t forget to check out the Sourcegraph-wide General Onboarding and Engineering Onboarding documents.
Onboarding goals and milestones
Your onboarding will take 3 months to complete, after which you will feel more confident in your abilities to have an impact on our team and within Sourcegraph. This process will require both your High Agency and our commitment to support you throughout the process.
We’ve broken down your onboarding into 30/60/90 day themes to help you stay focused on the most important outcome of each month.
First Month
The central theme for the first month is learning. During these 30 days, your goal is to acquire the foundational domain knowledge about our product, processes, architecture, and code base that will help you feel comfortable and be effective in the role of a software engineer in the Repo Management team.
You will meet many people, read multiple documents, solve small, well-defined technical challenges, and be exposed to a ton of new information. We understand this might feel overwhelming, so please relax and don’t stress. This first month is the time for learning and growth.
Take a look at the First Month plan here.
Second Month
We will give you more ownership and opportunities to make an impact. While learning will still be the central theme, you can expect more complex problems to solve. You will also get your first project assigned, requiring you to collaborate with other teams, think about planning, execution, risk management, technical design, and other factors.
You will start shadowing your peers during the operational rotation so that you can become comfortable and effective in this role and start participating in the process during the next month.
With the domain knowledge and business context you have acquired so far, it’s an excellent opportunity to start making an impact on the team. We expect your honest feedback about our current processes, tooling, architecture, code base, product goals, etc. Please be proactive in sharing your ideas on how we can improve in a spirit of continuous improvement.
Third Month
Time is running fast, and you learned a lot. You feel productive and autonomous, and your contributions are making a real impact on the team. It’s time to provide you with more leadership opportunities.
We would like you to take the role of a Directly Responsible Individual (DRI) for a given project. DRIs are empowered and accountable for the success of the initiative they lead. The scope and complexity of the problem to solve will depend on your seniority level. While you likely won’t be the only person working on this project, it’s up to you to make sure it gets done and that you have all resources necessary. Being a DRI might sound challenging and stressful, especially during your first months at Sourcegraph. Don’t worry; your buddy, peers, and team’s triad (Project Manager, Project Designer, and Engineering Manager) are here to help and support you. The goal is to give you the sense of responsibility, ownership, and experience of wearing different hats.
This month, you will also switch to active participation in operational rotation and join the team’s rotation schedule. Please do not forget that your peers are here to help, and you can rely on their support and guidance, especially during your first shift.