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Most engineers think job security is about writing clean code, shipping fast, and being “good at communication.”
That’s the fair version of the world.
A lot of teams don’t run on fairness. They run on approvals.
The Hidden System Nobody Warns You About
On some teams, work isn’t done when the code is done.
It’s done when the right people have signed off:
product, business, QA, and usually one or two senior engineers whose opinion quietly decides whether your work is “acceptable.”
If you don’t treat that like a real dependency, you’ll learn the hard way.
Because the org won’t grade your effort. It’ll grade whether the feature was accepted on time.
“I Sent Them a Message” Doesn’t Protect You
This is where good engineers get hurt.
They finish the work.
They ask for review once.
No one responds.
Sprint ends.
Someone says, “Why wasn’t this approved?”
Now it looks like you didn’t deliver.
Even if you did everything “right” technically, you still missed the invisible gate.
In environments like this, you don’t just notify people. You drive the approval to completion.
Document Everything That Can Blow Back Later
If the team has high turnover, it usually has high ambiguity too.
And ambiguity is a weapon. Not always on purpose, but it becomes one.
So document:
what you understood, what you asked, what was confirmed, and who was responsible for sign-off.
Not for drama. For clarity.
When requirements change late, written context is leverage.
Don’t Start Coding Until the Ticket Is Real
A vague ticket is not a green light. It’s risk.
If you start building before you understand what “done” means, you’re volunteering for rework.
Ask questions early.
Confirm expectations early.
Get someone to define success early.
Early clarification makes you look sharp.
Late clarification makes you look behind.
Align With the People Who Can Block You
Every team has a few people who function as gatekeepers, even if their title doesn’t say it.
If you’re not aligned with them, your PR will stall or your approach will get challenged at the worst possible time.
A quick alignment chat early can save days of back-and-forth later.
Use What Already Works
If there’s an existing pattern in the codebase, copy it.
It’s faster.
It’s safer.
It’s easier to review.
Novelty is expensive. Consistency ships.
Use AI and Meeting Artifacts to Reduce Waiting
In big companies, people are constantly unavailable.
If you’re blocked, don’t just sit there refreshing Slack.
Use AI to pressure-test your understanding, generate options, and draft crisp questions.
Also mine meeting notes and recordings. Decisions get made verbally all the time and never make it into the ticket.
The engineers who move fastest aren’t always the smartest.
They’re the ones who build context without needing permission.
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