I recently read an article written by Andrew, Meta Pivots From Open Weights, Big Pharma Bets On AI, Regulatory Patchwork, and more…, and found the discussion thought‑provoking. Particularly the part that mentions “engineers who know how to do some product work (and, optionally, some PMs who know how to do some engineering work).”
This resonated with an experience in my organization that I would like to discuss with the community.
In my company, Product Managers often handle multiple tracks and responsibilities. As a result, Software Engineers are sometimes required to step in and cover parts of the PM role to clarify scope, resolve ambiguities and making product trade‑offs on top of their engineering responsibilities.
While this crossover can be valuable, I’ve observed an unintended consequence. By the time engineers complete the product‑related work needed to move a story forward, much of the iteration time has already been spent. What follows is often a rush to implement, leaving less room to focus on technical depth, resilience, maintainability, or staying current with evolving technologies. Over time, non‑functional aspects of the product such as robustness, scalability, and long‑term code health tend to be deprioritized.
This leads me to reflect on whether the “engineering” aspect of Software Engineering risks being diluted in such setups.
My question to the community is this: Is the underlying assumption that Software Engineers should already be fully proficient in their core technical responsibilities before expanding into product or PM‑type work?
I’m genuinely interested in knowing your experience and thoughts, especially in the current fast‑moving and resource‑constrained environments. I hope this question is appropriate for the forum, and I appreciate any perspectives or experiences you’re willing to share.