A Tech Lead Vs A Team Lead

The unique focus for the Tech Lead is leading the technical direction and quality for the team. They may also have added responsibilities depending on the specific team. A Tech Lead is a software engineer responsible for leading a team and alignment of the technical direction. They may co-lead a team with other roles like a Product Manager or a Team Lead or Engineering Manager.

They lead discussions on decisions that might constrain or broaden future architectural choices. They, too, met with external stakeholders but focused on technical topics. They met with infrastructure people to understand network or hardware changes. They met with other Tech Leads to ensure our system fit in with the broader company ecosystem. They met with product people to ensure our architecture supported future work.

Make Architectural Decisions

Think of them as a senior developer with a specialized area of interest, either technical or organizational. Tech leads not only play a crucial role within the development team but also have a significant impact on client relations. Technical leaders help create strong, mutually beneficial partnerships that drive business growth and success by acting as a bridge between clients and development teams.
A tech lead vs. a team lead
A Tech Lead (or a technical lead) is a senior leading role for a software engineer. A Tech Lead is a decision maker and is necessary in bigger companies where the roles and skills are not easily interchangable. Tech Leads ensure that all team members understand and follow major technical decisions. They set the programming guidelines, most used libraries and technologies.

Goal Setting

This may involve chasing down answers to questions for the product owner, UX designer, or engineers from other teams. It may also involve working with a teammate to clarify some acceptance criteria on a ticket. It always involves doing code reviews on a daily basis and making sure pull requests don’t sit for too long without receiving attention. They play the role of architect, project manager, software engineer, mentor, and teammate all at once. CIOs lead unique and complex lives—operating at the intersection of business and technology to drive transformation and deliver business value. To help CIOs manage these challenges and issues, Deloitte’s CIO Program delivers trusted, personal experiences and relevant insights to technology leaders at the moments that matter most.

  • Some will tell you that tech leads should spend at least 30% of their time writing code.
  • I’ve been a tech lead for several years at a few different companies.
  • Therefore, one of the most critical tech lead responsibilities is filtering new technologies and focusing solely on valuable tools and promising libraries.
  • Brands are innovating left and right and outdoing each other in all aspects.
  • You’ll likely need to explain what’s going on with Engineering to other parts of the organization.
  • This may involve chasing down answers to questions for the product owner, UX designer, or engineers from other teams.

Software eco-design considers the system’s environmental impact from inception till the finish. For many, the distinction between the positions of Tech Lead, Team Lead, and Engineering Manager technical lead developer isn’t necessarily clear-cut. And when you add to this the fact that different companies use these terms differently, and sometimes interchangeably, things can get a little messy.

Deloitte Insights and our research centers deliver proprietary research designed to help organizations turn their aspirations into action. Deloitte Insights and our research centers deliver proprietary research designed to help organizations turn their aspirations into action. We’re a place where coders share, stay up-to-date and grow their careers. Neither of these lists are exhaustive in terms of responsibility, and the venn diagram of what role has what responsibility will vary from business to business. I like to think of the role as a Software Developer who lightly manages the team, from within the team. Up your remote management skills with these 3 simple tips.
A tech lead vs. a team lead
So, when we say things like a tech lead should provide guidance in technical architecture, that means they work with team members to determine the best architecture to solve a problem. A lot of tech leads start off by doing the job they would later on supervise. From coding to quality checking, hands-on experience in these tasks would be a huge plus to one’s portfolio. Furthermore, working in the industry for several years would add to their credibility and authority. The tech lead assists in hiring and training developers and other development roles. They are involved in the interview process in terms of assessing the technical skills of the candidate.

Additionally, tech leaders must excel with solid communication skills, allowing them to convey complex technical concepts to technical and non-technical stakeholders effectively. Currently, in some organizations, the five competencies are expected to reside within a single role or position—the CIO or highest-ranking tech leader. But it may be time to share and disperse these roles and responsibilities among a team of coordinated leaders. For example, a chief digital officer could focus on organizational transformation, while a chief data officer could focus on data monetization. Ideally, CIOs and tech leaders would help the C-suite make the best use of this matrixed and coordinated team. Tech leaders with strong technical and soft skills are essential for driving company growth.
A tech lead vs. a team lead
In fact, 70% of respondents said cybersecurity was the digital transformation initiative they’re currently pursuing or planning to pursue in the next two years. What holds true regardless of team composition is the Tech Lead’s technical leadership. An effective Tech Lead establishes a technical vision with the team.