I hope this letter finds you well. I wanted to take a moment to share some thoughts about how we work together, and more importantly, to express my deep appreciation for the incredible work you do.
Your work is often the soul of the product. The empathy you bring, the deep research and great taste you bring add up to a joyful experience. That’s what makes great products feel great. As engineers, we aspire to that level of care.
As product engineers, we often find ourselves in awe of the magic that designers create. Your ability to envision user experiences, understand the needs of our customers, and translate them into beautiful, intuitive designs is truly inspiring. For many of us, designers are like the north star: something to strive towards in terms of creativity, great taste and user empathy.
You might see talk of “product engineering” and wonder if we’re trying to step on your toes. And if we’re being honest, sometimes our content can come across that way. Manifestos, checklists, strong opinions—written as if we have it all figured out.
But the truth is: it’s mostly written for ourselves. It’s a reminder to stop coding and start thinking. To look beyond the Jira ticket and ask: Does this feel right? Is it intuitive? Would we be proud to ship this?
We want to be closer to design, not to replace it. Contribute our experience and expertise to it. Because we believe great products happen when engineers develop taste. Not just coding skills.
We’re learning. Trying to notice when something feels off. Trying to ask better questions. Trying to be more than just the dev who picks up tickets and needs to be told what to build.
So don’t lower your standards for us. Challenge us when we miss the mark. Treat us as partners. Help us grow into engineers who can build with you. Not after you.
Because in the end, product engineering is a team sport. And we want to be teammates you can count on.
Sincerely,
Your engineer colleague