the path to principal w/ rich rader
guest: rich rader, principal engineer at evacore
- a principal engineer role is still individual contributor work but carries director level responsibility and trust
- staff and principal titles are often interchangeable, but senior and lead vary a lot by company so ask about actual responsibilities
- extreme ownership means removing anything between you and a happy customer and fixing what you see even if it is not technically your job
- healthy retention comes from rewarding teaching and growth, not rewarding people for working unpaid overtime during big launches
- building strong remote culture takes intentional effort like regular culture discussions and team activities, not just being in an office