SDE I - can work on clearly defined components of a project assigned to them

SDE II - can work on an ambiguous project with multiple components lead by a technical strategy

SDE III - lead influence and define strategy for ambiguous projects across multiple teams

This person is operating at an SDE II level but is being managed at an SDE I level...it’s time for a promotion. What’s worse is the manager is micromanaging the engineers. Instead the employee needs to be given more ambiguous project level work that aligns with the team/product strategy where they can define their own tasks. Also the manager should consider falling back from managing at the task level, instead helping facilitate at the project (or “story”) level. The fact that the manager is managing at a task level and is unable to find work for this engineer tells me that the team doesn’t have a strong tech lead who is familiar with the team/product strategy and can help mentor/lead other engineers.

In terms of retaining the engineer and making them less insecure about their role, when the manager gives the team member more insight into the team’s strategy and the way that the manager is evaluating their work it helps team members feel more secure in their role. A lot of the anxiety comes from guessing what your manager is thinking and how you are being evaluated and shows a lack of communication between manager and team on strategy, values and performance evaluation. The manager should consider holding weekly 1:1s focusing on these topics.