Re:Ask HN: Senior engineering mngrs: how has AI changed your...
by raw_anon_1111 on Sunday January 11, 2026 @10:15PM
(#46583620)
I have never in 30 years across 10 jobs ever seen it work well when a manager does production code instead of just POCs.
Either you’re going to suck as a manager and not get your team the resources they need, play the political games, etc or you’re going to suck as a developer because you can’t keep your commitments and can’t do the follow through.
Even worse, is a manager who is pushing vibe coded slop.
The best thing a manager can do if they still want to code is R&D level work that developers productize.
I am a staff consultant. If I’m leading a large project, I purposefully don’t commit any code and spend most of my time coordinating between other developers and “the business”. If I do work it’s again an isolated POC.
Either you’re going to suck as a manager and not get your team the resources they need, play the political games, etc or you’re going to suck as a developer because you can’t keep your commitments and can’t do the follow through.
Even worse, is a manager who is pushing vibe coded slop.
The best thing a manager can do if they still want to code is R&D level work that developers productize.
I am a staff consultant. If I’m leading a large project, I purposefully don’t commit any code and spend most of my time coordinating between other developers and “the business”. If I do work it’s again an isolated POC.