Engineering Management

Sunil Sadasivan reflects on Sunil Pai's 'senior engineer death spiral' essay

Engineering leader Sunil Sadasivan writes about re-reading Sunil Pai's essay on senior engineers feeling stuck as their fields evolve. Sadasivan argues that first principles thinking—asking why something is being built and how it helps users—is what separates the best engineers he's managed, regardless of their background. He connects this habit to Pai's advice about prioritizing momentum over fixed outcomes, especially as software development shifts toward agentic AI tools.

sunilsadasivan.com · 2026-09-25

Essay warns senior engineers into a self-imposed 'death spiral' of overwork

An engineering leader recounts advising a friend who took a demanding new senior role and felt pressure to prove himself by working 60-80 hour weeks. He describes a recurring pattern he calls the 'senior engineer death spiral,' where engineers overcommit to ambitious projects, go silent for weeks, give vague positive updates, and quietly fall behind while trying to compensate by working even harder in secret.

sunilpai.dev · 2026-09-20