Skip to content

What is a Tech Lead?

Introduction#

Many organisations have a role called Tech Lead, but the specifics vary widely. Two Tech Leads in different organisations, or even in different parts of the same organisation, may have job descriptions that only partly overlap, and spend their days quite differently.

There is a common core, though, and the differences tend to fall into the same few areas. Understanding these helps you make sense of a role you are stepping into and have a useful conversation with your manager about what is expected of you.

This page explains what every Tech Lead role has in common, the main ways the role varies, and how to work out what it means in your organisation.

The common core#

Whatever the details, a Tech Lead is accountable for two things:

  • The technical outcomes of the team. Systems the team builds are fit for purpose, reliable, and able to keep evolving.
  • The effectiveness of the team. The team works well together, delivers, and keeps getting better at how it works.

In both cases, the Tech Lead achieves this mainly through the team rather than alone, which is what makes it a leadership role. Starting to lead explores what that change means in practice.

How the role varies#

Scale. Tech Leads usually lead a single team, but this is not always the case. They may lead a small team of two or three, a larger team of ten or so, or even several teams that may comprise twenty or so people in total.

Coding. Tech Leads are expected to stay in and around the code, but in some teams and organisations they remain significant individual contributors, while in others this mostly takes the form of mentoring, pairing, and reviewing code. See staying technical without getting in the way.

Architecture. Tech Leads contribute to defining the system architecture, but the extent of their involvement varies widely depending on the organisation. One key influence is whether there is a separate Architect role and, if so, how that operates.

Testing. Tech Leads are ultimately responsible for ensuring appropriate testing is done. They may work with dedicated testers, Software Engineers in Test, or similar, who can advise on specifics, but if not, they need to fill that gap.

System reliability. The Tech Lead ensures the system is reliable. That is, that non-functional requirements are understood, met, and validated through appropriate testing. This includes building in observability, security, performance, scalability, and resilience. Depending on the organisation, they may have more or less support from existing tooling, patterns, and specialist roles such as Platform or SRE teams.

Culture. Tech Leads play a role in nurturing and shaping the culture in the teams they lead. In some cases they are the primary person doing this, while in others there may be significant contributions from a Scrum Master, Delivery Lead, or Product Manager.

People management. In some organisations, Tech Leads do not have formal people management responsibility, while in others they do. Either way, familiarity and confidence with people leadership is necessary to be effective in the role.

Process. Tech Leads take the lead on defining and evolving some aspects of the team’s ways of working. In some cases, this may be limited to the more technical aspects such as branching and code review policies, while in others they may also lead the agile and people management aspects.

Across all of these, the pattern is the same. The Tech Lead is responsible for making sure each area is covered, whether by doing the work themselves, working with a specialist, or influencing others to do it.

Your version of the role#

The job title tells you little about what is expected of you. When you start in the role, or when the team or organisation around you changes, it is worth agreeing the specifics with your manager.

  • How much hands-on coding is expected of me?
  • Who else shapes the architecture, and how are architectural decisions made?
  • Is there dedicated test expertise in or around the team?
  • What support is there for reliability, such as platform teams, SRE, or shared tooling?
  • Who else leads on process and culture, such as a Scrum Master, Delivery Lead, or Product Manager?
  • Do I have line management responsibility, and if so, for whom?

Unowned means yours

If an area has no clear owner, assume it falls to you until agreed otherwise. Gaps rarely announce themselves, and they tend to surface as problems late.

The answers will change over time. A new Architect joining, a tester leaving, or the team doubling in size all shift the balance, so revisit them when circumstances change.

Key points#

  • The specifics of the Tech Lead role vary widely between organisations, and sometimes within them.
  • The common core is accountability for the team’s technical outcomes and for its effectiveness, achieved mainly through the team.
  • The role varies along predictable lines: scale, coding, architecture, testing, system reliability, culture, people management, and process.
  • In each area, the Tech Lead makes sure it is covered, whether by doing the work, working with a specialist, or influencing others.
  • Agree the specifics with your manager when you start, and revisit them when the team or organisation changes.

Mistakes to avoid

  • Assuming the role is the same as your last one. What was expected of a Tech Lead in your previous organisation may be quite different here.
  • Treating the job title as the job description. Two people with the same title can have very different responsibilities.
  • Assuming a specialist role covers an area. The existence of an Architect, SRE team, or Scrum Master somewhere in the organisation does not mean they are covering it for your team.
  • Competing with specialist roles. Where specialists exist, work with them and draw on their expertise rather than duplicating or second-guessing their work.
  • Never revisiting expectations. The balance agreed when you started will drift as the team and organisation change.