Uber's CTO, Sukumar Rathnam stepped down just 12 months after joining the company.
I left Uber shortly after he joined as CTO, and here are my thoughts on this departure, from the sidelines. A thread
I left Uber shortly after he joined as CTO, and here are my thoughts on this departure, from the sidelines. A thread
1. This was never meant to be an easy job. SK joined after the 2020 Uber engineering layoffs, low morale, and sinking stock price.
By the time he was in, attrition was high, and he had large shoes to fill that Thuan Pham, Uber's CTO of 7-years left behind.
By the time he was in, attrition was high, and he had large shoes to fill that Thuan Pham, Uber's CTO of 7-years left behind.
2. Uber was also without a CPO at this time: Dara stepped in to fill this role. One more challenge.
3. The tension with what engineering wanted (build for the long-term) and Uber's business needs (get to profitability the short- or medium-term) were always at odds.
3. The tension with what engineering wanted (build for the long-term) and Uber's business needs (get to profitability the short- or medium-term) were always at odds.
4. The business strategy at Uber has been simple: cut expenses on long shots, focus on short, profitable businesses. This is how ATG and Jump got sold, or how Uber's Money vision got cut (one I worked on).
5. Before 2020, engineering at Uber was mostly exciting, with many large investment projects both across platforms (newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com/p/program-plat…) and products.
Starting 2020, many of these got cut. There's still exciting work: but a lot more that is about cost savings over innovation
Starting 2020, many of these got cut. There's still exciting work: but a lot more that is about cost savings over innovation
6. A CTO departure with this tenure shows something was not working.
My take is that the current CTO role at Uber does not have seem to have the weight that it had in the past, and what would be needed for an efficient CTO and a strong engineering organization.
My take is that the current CTO role at Uber does not have seem to have the weight that it had in the past, and what would be needed for an efficient CTO and a strong engineering organization.
7. This lack of impact/space could be down to the business (aka Dara, the board, constraints) or it could be down to the person assuming.
CTO'ing 4,000 engineers is no easy role, parachuting from the outside. Good luck, Dara!
DMs are open for folks at Uber for their two cents.
CTO'ing 4,000 engineers is no easy role, parachuting from the outside. Good luck, Dara!
DMs are open for folks at Uber for their two cents.
8. One more addition: money.
Both Big Tech and New Big Tech is throwing money at engineers (newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com/p/perfect-stor…)
Uber is in a tight spot. They've done clever tricks (spreading bonus payouts, removing of cliff) but this won't be enough to hire from the top of the market.
Both Big Tech and New Big Tech is throwing money at engineers (newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com/p/perfect-stor…)
Uber is in a tight spot. They've done clever tricks (spreading bonus payouts, removing of cliff) but this won't be enough to hire from the top of the market.
9. Which leaves the next CTO in the same pickle as SR was in:
a) Do you keep hiring at lower cost locations (India, LatAm) where you have comms and eng culture challenges?
b) If the answer is no to a), how do you get budget when the business is focused on profitability?
a) Do you keep hiring at lower cost locations (India, LatAm) where you have comms and eng culture challenges?
b) If the answer is no to a), how do you get budget when the business is focused on profitability?
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
