Engineering manager training is a leadership program designed for tech leads and engineering managers who lead software teams. It covers the shift from coding to leading, one-on-ones and career growth for engineers, delivery and technical debt trade-offs, team metrics such as DORA, hiring, incident culture, and working with product and stakeholders. Bodhih tailors it to each client's engineering context.
- Recommended: 2 days in person, or 5 × 2.5-hour live virtual sessions spread over five weeks
- Level: Intermediate · In person · Live virtual · Blended
- Designed with the ADDIE model and customised to your context
- Offered by Bodhih since 2008 to 2,000+ organisations across 7 regions
Also known as: engineering leadership training, tech lead training, leadership training for software engineers, engineering management course
Where and how: engineering manager training as an in-person workshop in Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Gurugram, Hyderabad, Chennai, Pune, Kolkata, Ahmedabad and Jaipur; as a live online course; or delivered overseas in Dubai, Singapore and across the Middle East, Asia and Africa.
Why engineering managers need their own leadership program
Engineering teams face distinct pressures: fast release cycles, on-call duties, legacy code, distributed teams and now AI coding assistants. Generic management training rarely speaks to these realities, so engineers tune out.
Engineering manager training works best when it uses engineering language and examples. Leaders learn to apply systems thinking to people and teams, just as they already do to code and architecture.
What participants will be able to do
Choose their leadership path
Understand the difference between tech lead, engineering manager and staff engineer roles, and what each demands.
Run engineer-focused one-on-ones
Hold regular one-on-ones that cover growth, blockers, workload and career goals for engineers.
Balance speed and quality
Make and explain trade-offs between feature delivery and technical debt with product partners.
Measure team health wisely
Use DORA and SPACE metrics to improve flow without turning metrics into targets.
Grow and hire engineers
Use career ladders, structured feedback and fair interview loops to develop and hire strong engineers.
Build a learning culture
Run blameless incident reviews and healthy code review practices that improve quality and trust.
Who should attend
- Tech leads taking on people responsibilities
- Newly appointed engineering managers
- Experienced EMs who never had formal leadership training
- Engineering leads in GCCs working with global product teams
- Delivery and development managers in IT services
- QA, DevOps, data and platform team leads
Program outline
Recommended design, customised to your context after a short needs analysis.
01From engineer to engineering leaderModule 1 · 2 hours+
- Tech lead, engineering manager and staff engineer: roles and trade-offs
- Letting go of the keyboard: how much should you still code?
- Leading former peers and senior engineers
- Designing your week: maker time versus manager time
02One-on-ones, feedback and growthModule 2 · 2 hours+
- One-on-one formats that engineers actually value
- Using career ladders and competency matrices
- Feedback on code, behaviour and collaboration
- Handling underperformance and the brilliant but difficult engineer
03Delivery, flow and technical healthModule 3 · 2 hours+
- DORA metrics and the SPACE framework for developer productivity
- Making technical debt visible to product and business stakeholders
- Estimation, sprint commitments and saying no
- Exercise: building a team health dashboard
04Team design and collaborationModule 4 · 2 hours+
- Team Topologies: stream-aligned, platform and enabling teams
- Working with product managers, designers and global stakeholders
- Onsite-offshore and time-zone collaboration patterns
- Leading teams that use AI coding assistants
05Hiring, onboarding and team cultureModule 5 · 90 min+
- Structured interview loops and reducing bias
- Onboarding engineers to productivity faster
- Code review culture and psychological safety
- Blameless post-incident reviews
06Leadership plan and peer coachingModule 6 · 60 min+
- Personal 90-day engineering leadership plan
- Peer coaching circle on real team challenges
- Commitments reviewed with your own manager
How we deliver it
Engineering language
Concepts are framed in terms engineers recognise, such as systems, feedback loops and trade-offs, which builds buy-in quickly.
Real team cases
Participants bring current challenges, such as a missed release or a struggling engineer, and work through them with peers.
Spaced over sprints
The virtual format runs weekly so leaders can try a practice during a sprint and share results in the next session.
Peer coaching circles
Small groups of EMs continue to meet after the program, creating a support network across teams.
Tailored versions
For GCC engineering teams
Focus on leading India-based teams that own global products, influencing HQ engineering leaders and working across time zones.
For IT services delivery
Adapted for client-facing delivery, with emphasis on estimates, client escalations, utilisation and team development.
Tech lead track
A shorter version for tech leads without direct reports, focused on technical influence, mentoring and code review leadership.
How we measure impact
The ADDIE Evaluate stage is built in. Participants take a pre and post assessment of people-leadership competencies on AssessAll, and can gather a 360° pulse from their engineers. Managers of EMs hold 30, 60 and 90 day check-ins on the leadership plan. With client agreement, we also track team indicators such as engagement survey results, regretted attrition, onboarding time and DORA trends.
Pair this program with AssessAll, Bodhih’s AI assessment platform, for pre- and post-program skill measurement.
Frequently asked questions
What does an engineering manager do?
An engineering manager leads a team of engineers, focusing on people, delivery and team health. Responsibilities include hiring, one-on-ones, career development, performance management, removing blockers, working with product managers and ensuring the team delivers quality software sustainably. Technical judgement remains important, but the main output is a healthy, effective team.
How do I transition from engineer to engineering manager?
Start by taking on leadership tasks such as mentoring, running meetings or leading a small project. Talk openly with your manager about the move. Once in the role, accept that your value shifts from code to people and outcomes. Structured engineering manager training shortens the learning curve and helps you avoid common early mistakes.
What is the difference between a tech lead and an engineering manager?
A tech lead focuses on technical direction, architecture, code quality and mentoring, usually without formal people management. An engineering manager is responsible for people, including hiring, growth and performance, as well as delivery. In some companies one person does both, which is why clarity about expectations matters.
How do engineering managers measure team performance?
Many teams use DORA metrics, such as deployment frequency, lead time for changes, change failure rate and time to restore service, alongside the SPACE framework, which adds satisfaction, collaboration and efficiency. Metrics should guide improvement conversations, not rank individuals. The program shows how to build a balanced team health view.
Should engineering managers still code?
It depends on team size and company expectations. Many new managers keep some hands-on work, such as code reviews or small tasks, to stay close to the technology. However, owning critical-path features can block the team when management work takes priority. The program helps managers find the right balance for their context.
Is this program suitable for managers in IT services companies?
Yes. We adapt the content for IT services, where managers balance client expectations, utilisation and delivery commitments with team growth. Cases cover client escalations, estimates and developing engineers across multiple projects, alongside the core leadership skills. The design is finalised after a short needs analysis with your delivery leadership.
How does AI change the engineering manager's role?
AI coding assistants change how engineers work, how quickly code is produced and what skills matter most. Engineering managers need to set norms for responsible AI use, adjust code review and quality practices, and help engineers grow skills that AI does not replace, such as design judgement and problem framing.