Scaling Engineering Teams: From 10 to 100 Engineers
Lessons learned from scaling engineering organizations. Covers process, culture, communication, and tools that work at each stage of growth.
Aleksander Górka
Founder & CEO
·15 min read
Scaling Engineering Teams
Growing from 10 to 100 engineers is one of the hardest challenges in tech. Here's what we learned.
The Three Phases of Growth
Phase 1: 1-10 Engineers
Characteristics:
- Everyone knows everyone
- Direct communication
- Minimal process needed
What works:
- Daily standups
- Simple code reviews
- Shared Slack channel
Phase 2: 10-50 Engineers
Characteristics:
- Teams start forming
- Need for coordination
- Process emerges
What works:
- Cross-functional squads
- Sprint planning
- Technical leads
- Documentation standards
Phase 3: 50-100+ Engineers
Characteristics:
- Multiple teams
- Platform teams emerge
- Need for standards
What works:
- Clear ownership model
- Platform engineering
- Center of excellence
- Clear career ladders
Key Takeaways
- Hire for culture add, not culture fit — Diverse teams solve problems better
- Invest in onboarding — It pays dividends
- Document everything — Knowledge management is crucial
- Automate CI/CD — Remove friction from deployments
Conclusion
Scaling is hard, but with the right processes and culture, you can maintain velocity while growing. Focus on people, process, and communication.
