"The one habit that catapults tech teams to success is..."
In this edition of 'Coffee with Calyptus', we sit down with John Jae W.L., Senior Engineering Manager at Chainlink. John shares his journey from defining moments in leadership to scaling teams at one of blockchain's leading companies. Gain insights on fostering innovation, mentoring future leaders, and the essential qualities for thriving in the tech industry.
What defining moments shaped your approach to leadership, and what advice would you give to engineers aspiring to lead?
Being a kind, honest individual with the sole responsibility of positively growing each of your ICs should be the core mission for anyone stepping into management. For me, a defining moment was realizing that leadership is about service, not authority—prioritizing the well-being and development of the team above all else. Engineers wanting to manage should first reflect deeply on their motivations, ensuring they are rooted in a desire to empower others.
Start small: mentor junior engineers, volunteer to assist with team processes like roadmapping or quarterly planning, and actively seek feedback on your leadership style. These experiences not only help you understand management nuances but also demonstrate your readiness to take on a broader role.
Scaling a team at Chainlink from a handful to dozens is no small feat. What were the key lessons in driving growth and innovation within an expanding team?
Scaling requires a balance between vision and execution. Providing a multi-year vision and a high-level roadmap of team opportunities was instrumental for me in attracting and retaining top talent. Talented ICs thrive when they can see their future within the organization and feel supported by a manager who champions their success. Driving growth also meant creating a culture where innovation was encouraged, risks were supported, and wins, big or small, were celebrated.
Having led in both startup and corporate settings, what are the biggest differences in managing teams, and what unique skills does each environment teach?
There are more similarities than differences. Management teams require conviction, active pitching of the team's outputs and the Northstar goal, and also making sure your ICs are growing up and to the right. A team is a unique composition of everyone's strengths and background experiences, so if everyone is growing even 1% every day, over a year, a team will look drastically different.
How do you approach mentoring other engineering managers, and what do you believe makes for an effective senior EM?
When managing managers, it’s critical to foster a balance between autonomy and alignment. Ensuring accountability through a bottom-up roadmap allows managers to feel ownership of their teams while staying aligned with organizational goals. Providing clarity on central objectives and supporting them with resources builds trust and empowers them to deliver results. Senior engineering managers must increasingly think like business leaders—seeking out new opportunities, measuring value delivered, and creating meaningful impact. Mentorship here involves not only tactical guidance but also helping them grow their strategic vision and decision-making skills.
Looking back, what do you see as the most essential qualities for sustained success in tech, and how can emerging leaders start to build them?
Critical qualities for success are adaptability, a growth mindset, and strong communication skills. Emerging leaders can start by cultivating curiosity: seek out cross-functional perspectives, engage with feedback as a tool for growth, and embrace challenges that push you out of your comfort zone. Empathetic leadership, paired with a willingness to innovate, creates not just technical growth but also the foundation for meaningful, long-term success.
Solidity Challenge 🕵️♂️
What will be the output at the end of the following sequence of operations and why: addData(25,26,27) -> deleteData(25) -> getData(25,26) = ?
Jobs 💼
We have over 200 roles on our platform from companies like Aave, Aragon, Balancer, Gnosis, etc. Check out a select few below:
- Senior DevRel Engineer at Morpho Labs | Location: Remote, US based | Highlights: 5+ yrs DevRel, 2+ yrs fullstack, Expert in TypeScript, React, Python, Web3 experience | Apply Now: https://app.calyptus.co/QmVgmVX4iA
- Frontend Engineer at Socket | Location: Remote, GMT 0/+7 | Highlights: 5+ yrs frontend, Web3, SDKs, React, TypeScript, Developer-focused products, Third-party integration experience | Apply Now: https://app.calyptus.co/nRAVhbiz9L
- Principal Software Engineer (EU/UK) at DFNS | Location: Remote Europe / UK | Highlights: 8+ yrs engineering, 2+ yrs fintech/crypto, TypeScript, Rust, Dev tools, cybersecurity, infra, APIs, Strong education | Apply Now: https://app.calyptus.co/gVIWtpSq_t
- Senior Java Developer at Checker Inc | Location: Remote EST +/-2 hrs | Highlights: 5-8 yrs Java, OOP, Micronaut, GraalVM, microservices, Payments (SWIFT/SEPA), Blockchain, multilingual preferred | Apply Now: https://app.calyptus.co/APqgpnS3Iw
Solidity Challenge Answer ✅
Answer: The answer will be 27. When deleteData is called, it removes the struct from dataRecords, but the data in the nested mapping (details) remains intact in the contract's storage.
.png)
