Onboarding & Engineering Culture - how your first three weeks can predict the future
Looking back at this project, I recognize it as a textbook example of how poor onboarding practices lead to technical debt and suboptimal solutions. As my first assignment at the company, I was thrust into creating this makeshift data pipeline without proper context, resources, or time to understand organizational best practices.
When companies rush new engineers into "proving themselves" through quick wins rather than investing in proper onboarding, they inadvertently institutionalize short-term thinking. My Lambda-based solution, while functional, represented exactly this pattern – a technical workaround that addressed immediate needs but created long-term maintenance challenges.
The stressful nature of this experience reflects a broader issue in tech culture: the expectation that engineers should hit the ground running without adequate support. New team members are often evaluated on their ability to deliver quickly rather than their capacity to build sustainable solutions aligned with company standards and architecture.
Organizations with high employee turnover particularly suffer from this cycle. Without proper knowledge transfer or documentation, each wave of departing engineers leaves behind "quick fixes" that gradually calcify into critical systems. My improvised pipeline became one such system – difficult to maintain, challenging to expand, and expensive to replace.
The technical debt wasn't just in the code; it manifested in organizational knowledge gaps. Without understanding why proper orchestration tools weren't available, I couldn't advocate effectively for better resources. Without knowing the full context of data needs, I couldn't design with future requirements in mind.
Perhaps most concerning was how this pattern normalized emergency engineering. When quick hacks become standard practice, teams lose the ability to plan strategically and build robust systems. The constant fire-fighting creates a self-reinforcing cycle of pressure, burnout, and more hasty solutions.
A healthier approach would have involved:
- A structured onboarding period with shadowing opportunities
- Clear documentation of technical constraints and available resources
- Time to explore alternative approaches rather than rushing to implementation
- Mentorship from experienced team members familiar with organizational patterns
This experience taught me to recognize these warning signs in future roles and to advocate for proper onboarding – not just for my benefit, but for the long-term health of the engineering organization. Technical debt is often a symptom of organizational debt, and both require intentional investment to address.
While I'm proud of my ability to deliver under pressure, I now understand that sustainable engineering requires balancing immediate delivery with long-term thinking – something nearly impossible without proper organizational support during onboarding.