Back in 2024, we sat down with Donaldo Lika to talk about innovation and his journey as an Engineering Team Lead (you can read that first interview here). But career journeys are rarely a straight line.
Recently, Yann Kremer, Senior Talent Acquisition and People Partner with 4+ years at SmartRecruiters, caught up with Donaldo, now Senior Software Engineer II with 4 years at the company to check in. After nearly two years in a management track, Donaldo made the deliberate, proactive choice to transition back into an Individual Contributor (IC) role.
In this transparent and insightful Q&A, Yann and Donaldo discuss the realities of context-switching, advocating for team growth, navigating performance metrics, and why moving "back" to engineering is sometimes the biggest step forward.
Yann: You were featured on our career site in 2024, but for those who may not have seen that interview, could you briefly remind us of your journey at SmartRecruiters — what position were you hired for, and when?
Donaldo: Of course! I officially joined SmartRecruiters back in June 2022 as a Senior Software Engineer. Right from the start, during my interview process with Kamil Sobon, I experienced a very positive and open culture, which was a huge factor in my decision to join the company.
Initially, I worked on the candidate application experience team, specifically focusing on OneClick and our screening questions. It wasn’t without its challenges! The period coincided with a company reorganization and team restructuring, during which the team had fewer experienced members than usual while we worked through the transition.. My biggest hurdle wasn't necessarily the technical stack itself, but building up the domain knowledge and truly understanding the historical technical decisions and business justifications behind our product.
Yann: You moved to an Engineering Team Lead position in September 2023. What was the biggest difference between your original position and this new role?
Donaldo: It was a significant shift in my daily focus. As an Individual Contributor, your primary energy goes into solving technical problems and shipping clean code. Once I transitioned to Engineering Team Lead, my priority immediately shifted toward people management, meaning: helping my teammates grow, removing blockers, and ensuring our team's alignment with the broader company goals and direction.
Yann: What did you enjoy most as an Engineering Team Lead?
Donaldo: What I enjoyed most was the balance between driving high-level strategy and driving team growth. Having a seat at the table in company vision meetings allowed me to align our technical goals with the bigger picture.
But what truly motivated me was using that position to advocate for my team. For example, during my time as a lead, I successfully advocated for a colleague's promotion to the next level. He is an absolute rockstar, and being in a position to champion his hard work and dedication was deeply fulfilling for me.
Yann: What did you miss about working as an Individual Contributor (IC)?
Donaldo: I missed having the dedicated focus to make deep, meaningful technical contributions. The ETL role is highly demanding when it comes to time management because of the sheer number of context switches you have to make every single day. You are constantly jumping between technical discussions, alignment synchronization, and people management. It made me realize that some of these responsibilities might be better distributed between team leads and managers so engineers can keep a bit more focus.
Yann: You excelled as an Engineering Team Lead (ETL), earning appreciation from your peers and team. Why did you decide to revert to an Individual Contributor (IC) role?
Donaldo: It came down to a realization about my career path and how my impact was being measured. During a major company initiative - the Winston Match project -I was acting as a hybrid, providing technical co-architecture while simultaneously driving and supporting the project from a management perspective.
Even though I felt I was contributing significantly on both fronts, my performance evaluations were naturally rated on only one of the positions (the managerial one). I realized that balancing multiple heavy responsibilities meant I couldn't find sufficient opportunities for deep technical execution. Managing people simply wasn't aligned with my ultimate long-term career goals. I wanted to focus 100% on becoming a top-tier Senior Engineer or Tech Lead, rather than continuing down the management track.
Yann: Was there a particular moment when you realized you wanted to move back to an IC role, or was it more of a gradual realization?
Donaldo: It was definitely a gradual realization that solidified during that Winston Match project. When you look at your day-to-day work and realize that you are trying to do two massive roles at once, and therefore cannot give your absolute best to the technical side you love, you have to make a choice. It became clear that to reach my personal goals for career progression, I needed to step away from management.
Yann: After nearly two years as a manager, what did this experience bring you, and what advice would you give to others who may realize that a role is not the right long-term fit for them?
Donaldo: The experience was incredibly valuable. I don’t regret it at all! It completely expanded my perspective beyond just the code. I learned so much about people management, relationship building, and how to utilize technical knowledge during critical business discussions. Ironically, the experience actually enhanced my engineering skills and greatly expanded my internal networking opportunities.
My advice to anyone who realizes a role isn't the right fit is simple: take control of your own career development. Be completely honest with yourself and your manager about your goals. We have amazing resources available at SmartRecruiters, like leveling guides and training sessions. Use them to find what truly clicks for you.
Yann: Now that you are a Senior II at SmartRecruiters, which do you find more complex: managing people in a fast-paced company, or working as a T4 level (Technical/Individual Contributor)?
Donaldo: Both paths have their own unique complexities. Managing people in a fast-paced environment requires immense emotional intelligence, adaptability, and constant context-switching. On the other hand, executing at a Senior II level requires intense technical focus, scalability planning, and deep architectural discipline. For me, the technical path is where I thrive, but the managerial path taught me to appreciate the complexity of human systems just as much as technical ones.
Yann: Would you advise other engineering colleagues to move into managerial positions?
Donaldo: Yes, but only if it truly aligns with what motivates you. If you are curious about it, I say try it! It gives you an invaluable perspective. However, my biggest piece of advice is this: if you decide to take on a team lead role, commit to it entirely. Do not try to keep one foot in full-time engineering and one foot in management. Focus fully on the position so you can give your team the support they deserve.
Yann: How would you advise them to prepare for that transition?
Donaldo: Prepare yourself through proper training, utilizing company resources, and building strong self-discipline. Beyond the technical scope, work heavily on your soft skills. Focus on being approachable, empathetic, and a great listener. Your role is no longer just about writing code; it's about building an environment where your team can succeed.
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