Lights on Humans: The Unspoken Skills Towards Seniority
About this session
Becoming a senior engineer is often assumed to be about years of experience or deeper technical skills. But there’s a less talked about side of the role like influencing decisions, handling ambiguity, and communicating effectively. The skills that are harder to measure but expected for the growth.
In this session, we’ll break down what really changes as you grow into a senior engineer role, the skills that go beyond coding, and how to start building them even if no one gives you a roadmap.
Bring at least one question. Join to listen and learn.
About Lights on Humans Series
So many conversations about work, burnout, leadership, or career growth happen online but often feel one-way. People create, and posts. Others consume, "like" or "comment". And yet, it’s rare to actually talk about these things in real time, human to human.
That’s why Lights on Humans isn’t a podcast or a polished talk. It’s a free, low-key monthly gathering where we can figure things out together. A space where you can ask the questions you’ve always pondered, hear stories, and feel a little less alone.
We don’t mind if five people join or fifty as long as there is a conversation. Sometimes I may bring a guest to share their perspective. Sometimes it’s just me and whoever shows up.
Either way, the goal is to have real conversations about the messy, human side of tech life. The parts we don’t always talk about but all live through. Read more about the inspiration behind this series here.
Format:
15 min → A story or insight to start the conversation
40 min → Q&A
5 min → Wrap-up + next month’s theme
About Busra
I’m Busra — a software engineer turned coach and founder of Humans in Systems.
Over more than a decade in tech, I’ve worked at companies like Datadog, where I led incident management programs across the entire company and managed engineering teams; and at Trivago & Picnic, where I built reliable systems at scale.
Along the way, I’ve seen the realities of burnout, the complexity of leadership transitions, and what it takes to build engineering cultures rooted in trust especially in high-stakes environments.
What I’ve learned is that people thrive when they feel safe, connected, and empowered to take charge of their work and growth.
This series exists to create those spaces for reflection, learning, and real conversation.