Wearing Many Hats: The Reality of a Startup Engineer
Joining a startup is like jumping onto a roller coaster without a seatbelt
☝🏼 Joining a startup is like jumping onto a roller coaster without a seatbelt. It’s challenging, exciting, and sometimes overwhelming.
In the latest episode of The Optimist Engineer, we talked with Alberto Carrasco Montenegro about his experience working in a startup with fewer than 20 people, where he is the most senior member of the engineering team. This means many things: technical leadership, mentoring, making critical decisions, and, of course, writing code. You can watch/listen to it here 👇🏻
Let’s break down the positives, the hardest challenges, and the key lessons from this conversation.
🌟 The Good: Growth, Learning, and Autonomy
From the conversation with Alberto, we see that one of the biggest perks of working in a startup is how quickly you learn.
☝🏼 The lack of rigid structures creates opportunities to explore new areas and take on responsibilities that might take years to reach in a bigger company.
Autonomy and decision-making – Small teams mean every engineer has a say in product and tech decisions. There’s no bureaucracy.
Direct impact – Engineering decisions immediately affect the business. You’re not just writing code; you’re building the foundation of the product.
Fast learning – With fewer defined processes, learning happens quickly. From infrastructure to leadership, growth is inevitable.
As Alberto says:
Time flies in this kind of environment. It’s intense, but also incredibly rewarding.
⚡ The Hard Part: Heavy Responsibility and Context Switching
Not everything is shiny.
☝🏼 Working at a startup also means dealing with challenges that can be exhausting.
Too many responsibilities – In a team of just four developers, there are no dedicated QA, product, or operations roles. Engineers handle it all.
Making critical decisions with limited information – Sometimes, you need to make key calls without having all the data. And yes, the margin for error is small.
Constantly changing priorities – Strategies shift fast in startups. What’s a top priority today might be irrelevant tomorrow, which can be frustrating if not managed well.
Then there’s the reality of working directly with the CEO. As Alberto points out,
It’s not always easy to say “no” to someone leading the company with a bold vision. The key is building strong arguments and understanding that everyone is working toward the same goal.
🎯 Lessons Learned
One thing was clear in this conversation:
☝🏼 Working at a startup isn’t for everyone. Not because it’s better or worse than a big company, but because it requires a very specific mindset. Some key takeaways:
Proactivity isn’t optional – There’s no room to sit and wait for detailed instructions. You have to take initiative.
Learning is constant – Every day brings something new. If you value total stability, a startup might not be the best fit.
Balancing speed and quality is critical – Moving fast doesn’t mean sacrificing best practices. As Alberto mentions, well-structured code and solid engineering principles are still essential.
It’s not just about writing code; it’s about impact – Engineering in a startup isn’t just about building software—it’s about building a sustainable business.
What do you think? Have you worked at a startup or would you like to? I’d love to hear your thoughts. 🚀
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Working in startups it could be challenging but also highly rewarding. I've been working for startups most of my career and have learned a lot.
Same for me. I'm working in a startup for past 10 years. Started as first employee and reached 10 people now. You never get bored and always have tasks on list. 😀 You must be innovative.