Ask HN: Role of Tech Lead And/or Tech Director at Digital Agency
The development team is quite small, so I still do my share of coding since there aren't enough resources to just delegate. And it's fine by me, I kinda like it. Of course, I supervise other developers, though not to the extent of micromanaging. But because of that, I often have no time to do something else, like researching, defining technical roadmaps (what to achieve etc), creating a development standard, etc.
Now, as I observe throughout the year, my TD somehow doesn't really do the technical direction stuff. As to what he does daily, it's kinda...non-existent? He's never really done or talked about anything code-related to the team. He did mention that he won't be doing anything code-related because he trusts that I as TL can manage and him helping out will reflect badly on my performance.
One of his daily job is development resource assignments. When PMs have projects to do, they request resources to him. But often, he only assigns jobs based on availability without considering factors like experience or capability. And he does this often without consulting to me or the assigned developer first.
On hiring front, he once hired a guy that I didn't approve of, without my knowledge. I sent the guy a test and wasn't impressed by the result, so it's surprising when I learned that this guy was hired anyway, and I only knew from the HR. I talked to him about this, and he kinda said "yeah I kinda gamble on this guy, but I want to hire him". I'm aware hiring is his authority but as a TL, surely my opinion matters too? Especially since I'll be leading and responsible for whatever developers do.
Anyone has any opinion or experience like this? I wonder is it often for agencies to have both TL and TD? If so, how do you differ the roles?