Rise of the Operator EM

Overview The piece outlines the emergence of the "Operator EM" role, a hybrid position that blends traditional engineering management responsibilities with hands-on operational oversight. It explains why post-ZIRP organizations need this new playbook to balance strategic direction and day-to-day execution.

Key Takeaways

• Operator EMs focus on removing impediments and ensuring reliability while still driving team growth.
• The role requires a mix of people-leadership skills and deep technical operational knowledge.
• Implementing the Operator EM playbook helps teams move faster without sacrificing quality.

Who Would Benefit

• Engineering managers looking to expand their influence beyond pure people-management.
• Senior leaders who need a bridge between product strategy and operational excellence.
• Teams experiencing bottlenecks in deployment, incident response, or scaling efforts.

Frameworks and Methodologies

• Incident Command System (ICS) adapted for software teams.
• Continuous Delivery pipelines with built-in reliability checks.
• Dual-track agile processes that incorporate operational feedback loops.