The Changing Shape of Engineering Leadership roundtable

The Changing Shape of Engineering Leadership

A peer-led Engineering Leadership roundtable exploring AI ROI, evolving leadership roles and leading engineering teams through change.

On Wednesday 23rd September, Burns Sheehan will bring together Engineering Managers, Heads of Engineering, Engineering Directors, VPs and CTOs for an interactive Engineering Leadership Roundtable in London, moderated by Rahat Khan, Engineering Leader @ DeepL.

Engineering organisations are changing quickly. AI tools are becoming part of everyday engineering workflows, leadership responsibilities are shifting and businesses are asking technology teams to demonstrate greater impact while navigating tighter economic conditions.

But what does that mean in practice for the people leading engineering teams?

This session will bring together Engineering Leaders from organisations including DeepL, Monzo, Tesco, Rightmove, JustPark, Dexory, Signal AI, Flagstone, Goodfit and ATG to compare experiences and explore three challenges currently shaping engineering leadership.

Rather than presentations or a traditional panel, the roundtable will be built around small-group discussions, giving attendees the opportunity to share what they're seeing inside their own organisations, learn from their peers and challenge different approaches.

What will we discuss?

1. Proving the ROI of AI tools in Engineering

Engineering teams have rapidly experimented with AI coding assistants, automation and other AI-powered tools, but demonstrating their actual business value is more difficult.

The group will explore how Engineering Leaders are measuring the ROI and impact of AI tools, including:

• How do you measure the real impact of AI beyond developer productivity?
• Which AI tools and approaches are delivering genuine value for engineering teams?
• What metrics can Engineering Leaders use to demonstrate ROI?
• How do you build a business case for further investment in AI?

The discussion will look beyond simply adopting AI to understand where it is creating measurable value for engineering organisations.

2. The changing role of Engineering Managers and technical leaders

As engineering teams and ways of working evolve, traditional leadership structures are being challenged too.

We'll discuss how Engineering Leadership roles are changing, including the relationship between Engineering Managers, Heads of Engineering and senior individual contributors such as Staff and Principal Engineers.

Questions will include:

• How are the responsibilities of Engineering Managers evolving?
• What is the right balance between people leadership and technical leadership?
• Where should Staff and Principal Engineers sit within an engineering leadership structure?
• What does an effective leadership model look like for a modern engineering organisation?

The aim is to compare how different businesses are structuring technical and people leadership and where responsibilities are beginning to shift.

3. Leading engineering teams through culture shift and change

New technology doesn't automatically create organisational change. Engineering Leaders also need to bring people with them.

Our third discussion will explore engineering culture, resistance to change and the impact of economic pressure on technology teams.

We'll consider:

• What causes resistance to new tools and ways of working?
• How can Engineering Leaders build trust during periods of change?
• How are economic pressures changing engineering investment, team structures and priorities?
• How can leaders create space for innovation while maintaining delivery expectations?

This won't be a speaker-led event.

Attendees will be divided into small groups, with each group spending approximately 25 minutes exploring one of the three core themes.

We've deliberately brought together leaders at different levels of seniority. Engineering Managers will be able to compare their experiences with Heads and Directors of Engineering, VPs and CTOs, bringing different perspectives on the same organisational challenges.

Each group will then share its key takeaways with the wider room, followed by an open discussion and Q&A moderated by Rahat Khan.

The goal is simple: an open and practical conversation between Engineering Leaders about what's working, what isn't and what they're learning as their organisations change.

Want to join the conversation?

We love bringing our Engineering Leadership community together for sessions like this. They create a space for leaders to step away from the day-to-day, have open conversations about the challenges they’re facing and learn from people tackling similar problems in different organisations.

If you’re an Engineering Leader and would like to join a future roundtable, contribute to the discussion or get involved with our wider Engineering community, reach out to Grace Duffy to find out more.