Engineering onboarding is broken at most companies. New hires spend weeks reading outdated documentation, bothering colleagues with questions, and fighting with development environments. Months pass before they’re productive.
Better onboarding accelerates time to productivity while building lasting foundations.
Goals of Onboarding
Day 1 Goals
- Environment works
- Can build and run the project
- Has access to necessary systems
- Knows who to ask for help
- Feels welcomed
Week 1 Goals
- Understands team structure and processes
- Has deployed something (even small)
- Met key people
- Understands the product/domain basics
- Has made first code contribution
Month 1 Goals
- Productive on assigned work
- Understands architecture
- Can navigate codebase independently
- Knows team norms and culture
- Has relationships with teammates
Quarter 1 Goals
- Fully productive
- Contributing to design decisions
- Mentoring newer team members
- Identifying improvements
The Onboarding System
Pre-Day 1
Before they arrive:
✓ Accounts created (email, Slack, GitHub, etc.)
✓ Equipment ordered and configured
✓ Onboarding buddy assigned
✓ First week calendar scheduled
✓ Team notified of start date
✓ Welcome materials sent
Day 1 Checklist
## Day 1 Agenda
### Morning
- [ ] Welcome, introductions
- [ ] HR paperwork (if not done)
- [ ] Equipment setup
- [ ] Access verification (can log in to everything)
### Afternoon
- [ ] Development environment setup
- [ ] First build of the project
- [ ] Pair with buddy on small task
- [ ] End-of-day check-in
Development Environment
One command should work:
# Clone repo
git clone git@github.com:company/app.git
# Setup everything
make setup
# Installs dependencies
# Configures local services
# Seeds database
# Runs tests
# Start development
make dev
# Opens browser to http://localhost:3000
Time to “it works”: less than 1 hour.
First Week Structure
Day 1: Setup + First Build
Day 2: Architecture Overview + First PR
Day 3: Product Deep-Dive + Feature Work
Day 4: Continue Feature + Team Processes
Day 5: Deploy to Production + Week Review
Onboarding Buddy
Assign a buddy who:
- Is not the manager
- Has capacity (reduced workload)
- Is approachable
- Knows the codebase well
Buddy responsibilities:
- Pair programming
- Answer questions
- Cultural introduction
- Psychological safety
Starter Tasks
Pre-selected tasks for new hires:
## Good First Issues
- [ ] Fix typo in error message
- [ ] Add missing validation
- [ ] Update outdated dependency
- [ ] Write test for untested function
- [ ] Improve error handling in X
Criteria:
- Well-defined scope
- Low risk
- Touches real code
- Can be done in 1-2 days
- Introduces important systems
Documentation
What new hires need:
## Engineering Handbook
### Getting Started
- Development environment setup
- First PR guide
- Common commands
### Architecture
- System overview (with diagrams)
- Service responsibilities
- Data flow
### Processes
- How to deploy
- On-call expectations
- Code review norms
- Sprint process
### Culture
- Team values
- Decision-making
- Communication norms
Keep it current. Outdated docs are worse than no docs.
Common Mistakes
Information Overload
❌ "Here's 50 pages of documentation to read"
✓ "Here's what you need for today. More later."
Sink or Swim
❌ "Here's your project. Good luck."
✓ "Here's your first task. Let's work on it together."
No Structure
❌ "Just ask if you need anything"
✓ "Here's your schedule for the week"
Outdated Materials
❌ "Follow these steps (from 2017)"
✓ "Run 'make setup' and it'll work"
Assuming Knowledge
❌ "Just use our standard pattern"
✓ "Let me show you our pattern and why we use it"
Measuring Onboarding
Quantitative Metrics
time_to_first_pr:
target: < 2 days
actual: ?
time_to_first_production_deploy:
target: < 1 week
actual: ?
time_to_full_productivity:
target: < 2 months
actual: ? (survey-based)
Qualitative Feedback
30/60/90 day check-ins:
- What's going well?
- What's confusing?
- What would have helped?
- What should we change?
Iterate
Use feedback to improve:
- Fix documentation gaps
- Improve setup scripts
- Adjust starter tasks
- Train buddies
Checklist Template
## New Hire Onboarding: [Name]
### Pre-Start
- [ ] Equipment ordered
- [ ] Accounts created (list)
- [ ] Buddy assigned: [Name]
- [ ] Calendar invites sent
- [ ] Welcome email sent
### Day 1
- [ ] Badge/access working
- [ ] Equipment set up
- [ ] Development environment working
- [ ] First build successful
- [ ] End-of-day check-in done
### Week 1
- [ ] First PR merged
- [ ] Team lunch scheduled
- [ ] Architecture overview completed
- [ ] Key 1:1s scheduled
- [ ] First feature assigned
### Month 1
- [ ] 30-day check-in done
- [ ] Feature shipped
- [ ] On-call shadowing (if applicable)
- [ ] Feedback collected
Key Takeaways
- Prepare before day 1: accounts, equipment, buddy, calendar
- Development environment should work in under 1 hour
- Assign an onboarding buddy (not the manager)
- Structure the first week with clear daily goals
- Deploy to production in the first week
- Use pre-selected starter tasks that touch real code
- Keep documentation current and focused
- Measure time to productivity and iterate
- Collect feedback at 30/60/90 days
Good onboarding is an investment. The payoff is faster productivity and better retention.