Welcome to the engineering team at Air!
As a new engineer, you'll be paired with specific team members who are responsible for getting you onboarded and productive in our codebase. We do this for two reasons:
- To help set new engineers up for success
- To give existing engineers the opportunity to mentor new teammates
Expectations
Mentee
- Show up - The primary expectation for you initially is just to be here ready to work. You were hired because we believe in your long term ability to be an impactful team member, but for now, don't worry about that. Just be here, be on time, and be ready to work.
- Ask questions - The main reason new engineers struggle is because they're not asking enough questions. The purpose of the onboarding mentorship program is to reduce the barrier here and make sure you know exactly who to go with if you're stuck. You are definitely encouraged and expected to do your own research, too. Google around, read documentation, but don't waste time banging your head against the wall on something that you've tried to figure out but can't get past. Here's a reference to how to best ask questions: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Reference_desk/How_to_ask_a_software_question
Mentor
- Be available - Your job is the be eager and ready to help your mentee get started. Occasionally this will mean putting your own work on hold to focus on problem solving with your mentee.
- Be patient - The first few days and weeks at a new job can be overwhelming. Remember to be patient with your new teammate as they learn the ropes. Investing our time in ramping them up now will pay dividends in the long run!
Touch points
Here are a few specific ways you should interact with your onboarding mentor:
- Onboarding meeting - Your mentor will reach out to schedule a technical onboarding session during your first day. During this meeting, they'll make sure you're set up for development in the repositories you'll work with most.
- PR Reviews - As you finish each piece of work, you can open PRs for review and send them to your mentor. They'll give you feedback on your code and help shepherd you through the rest of the review process. It's best practice to ask for PR reviews in public slack channels where other developers can see, even if you're asking a specific person for the review.
- Check-in meetings - You are encouraged to meet regularly to review code, ask questions, and pair program. We find this to be most successful when it's scheduled as a recurring meeting, but we encourage you to meet ad hoc as issues arise as well.
Measuring success