In this WEST panel discussion, experienced engineers will share what it really takes to grow from Senior to Staff and beyond. Learn how the role shifts in scope, how to build influence across teams, and why “soft skills” like communication and visibility are essential technical competencies at higher levels. Get actionable advice on building your engineering brand, identifying high-impact work, and finding sponsors who advocate for your growth. Watch the recording.

AJ Oxendine is the Tech Lead and Staff Software Engineer for the Home Feed product at Pinterest. She enjoys the creative process of building new things, figuring out how they work, and how she can make them better. This passion has led her to study music composition, art, graphic design. and now, software engineering.

Allison Liemhetcharat is generally interested in using artificial intelligence to solve real world problems. At DoorDash Labs, Allison is the technical lead manager of Simulation and Evaluation, and working to improve autonomy. Allison attained her Ph.D. in Robotics from Carnegie Mellon University. Allison cares deeply about Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and mentorship, and has led employee resource groups (ERGs) and mentored over 40 people throughout her career.

Cathy Reilly is a Principal Engineer at Circle. Her 30-year career in tech has also included 14 years at Adobe.

Ei-Nyung Choi has worked in tech for almost 30 years, in roles as Sr Software Eng, Principal Staff Eng, Eng Manager, Software Architect, Co-founder, and CTO. She’s currently the Fractional CTO at tEQuitable.