In a world of short-form content, it's important to engage with long-form ideas. Book Overflow is a podcast created for software engineers, by software engineers to discuss the best technical books in the world. Join co-hosts Carter Morgan and Nathan Toups each week as they discuss a new technical book! New episodes every Monday!

Staff-Level Impact - Staff Engineer by Will Larson

September 01, 2025 01:19:19 12.96 MB ( 63.18 MB less) Downloads: 0

In this episode of Book Overflow, Carter and Nathan discuss Staff Engineer by Will Larson! Join them as they discuss what it means to have staff-level impact, how being a staff engineer differs from being a senior engineer, and more!


-- Want to talk with Carter or Nathan? Book a coaching session! --

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Carter

https://www.joinleland.com/coach/carter-m-1


Nathan

https://www.joinleland.com/coach/nathan-t-2


-- Books Mentioned in this Episode --

Note: As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

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Staff Engineer by Will Larson

https://amzn.to/4p67dOU (Paid Link)


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00:00 Intro

01:08 About the Book and Author

03:34 Thoughts on Staff Engineer

09:29 Staff Engineer Archetypes and Organizational Dynamics

23:17 What Staff Engineers Actually Do

38:57 Soft Power and Cross-Team Impact

52:42 The Reality of Staff Engineering Work

1:03:16 Hot Takes - Silicon Valley and Career Paths

1:12:50 Final Thoughts


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Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5kj6DLCEWR5nHShlSYJI5L

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/book-overflow/id1745257325

X: https://x.com/bookoverflowpod

Carter on X: https://x.com/cartermorgan

Nathan's Functionally Imperative: www.functionallyimperative.com


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Book Overflow is a podcast for software engineers, by software engineers dedicated to improving our craft by reading the best technical books in the world. Join Carter Morgan and Nathan Toups as they read and discuss a new technical book each week!


The full book schedule and links to every major podcast player can be found at https://www.bookoverflow.io