Software engineering for successful ecommerce clients and brands
Hello there! My name is Peter Pilgrim. I’m a well-known software developer, independent consultant, speaker, and writer on software engineering and digital architecture. I worked as a Principal Engineer. I worked as a Solution Architect inside a Centre of Excellence team. For 25 years, I’ve helped all sort of companies, from big boom enterprise banks to re-start ups improve their software engineering applications and platform by providing engineering expertise. My work is distinctive and original and I deliver engaging customer experiences and world-class designs.
JAVA TECH COACH
Recently, I made an executive decision to share my experience professionally with talented individuals as a technical coach. In sports, such as athletics, football and tennis, no one really questions the validity of a personal coach to help talent folk become even more successfully. So why not in technology and career? Instead, society, tends treat those of us, like me, who sought professional help as weak fools. For those who are never had an issue, a mental writers block, never faced redundancies or restructuring of their job, "beaulais" for them. That is just great for me. For the rest of us, who made mistake, we want to learn from them, when we fall and bust our knee, we want brush ourselves off and go again, rather than feel sorry for ourselves.
Just for a minute, why don't you please think about this? You are currently a junior software engineer. How can you make the grade to mid-level sooner and better? You are a mid-level staff engineer and you have an unstructured career path. How can you effectively reach that principal engineer role? You just need a GAME PLAN and a PORTFOLIO.
If you would like me as your JAVA TECH COACH, please reach out to me over LinkedIn or email me.
Here is a sample session for a Junior Developer aiming for the mid-level software engineer.
3-Session Junior Developer Coaching Plan
Balancing Agile development, soft skills, and Spring Boot basics
Session 1: Agile Mindset + Soft Skills
Objective: Introduce Agile workflows and teamwork essentials.
Topics:
- Agile Basics (Scrum/Kanban, sprints, user stories)
- Communication Skills (Asking questions, standup updates, remote collaboration)
- Feedback Culture (How to give/receive code reviews constructively)
- Time Management (Breaking tasks, avoiding burnout)
- Role-play a standup meeting ("What did you do? What's blocking you?").
- Discuss a real-world scenario (e.g., handling missed deadlines).
Session 2: Spring Boot Basics & Design Patterns
Objective: Simplify Spring Boot architecture with pragmatic patterns.
Topics:
- Spring Boot Intro (Why use it? REST controllers, @Autowired)
- Basic Design Patterns (Singleton, Repository, Dependency Injection)
- API Design (CRUD endpoints, DTOs vs. Entities)
- Error Handling (@ControllerAdvice, custom exceptions)
- Live code a simple REST endpoint (e.g., GET /users).
- Compare monolithic vs. layered architecture (high-level).
Session 3: Agile Tech Practices + Career Growth
Objective: Merge Agile with technical workflows and long-term growth.
Topics:
- Agile Engineering Practices (CI/CD, automated testing, refactoring)
- Collaborative Tools (Git/GitHub, Jira, Slack etiquette)
- Career Advice (Building a portfolio, networking, mentorship)
- Q&A (Their specific challenges)
- Sketch a CI/CD pipeline on a whiteboard (commit → test → deploy).
- Share a sample "learning path" (e.g., "Next: Learn Docker → Spring Cloud").
Key Adjustments from Technical-Focused Plan:
- Less: Deep algorithms, complex Java syntax
- More: Agile rituals, Spring Boot conventions, teamwork dynamics
- Soft Skills Woven In: Each session includes 5–10 mins on communication (e.g., "How to explain technical blockers to PMs")
Bonus Ideas:
- Pre-Work: Recommendation to read one Agile manifesto principle
- Post-Session: Share your template for writing clear user stories
- Follow-Up: Provide your checklist of key takeaways after each session
- Flexibility: we can tailor the level for each session to your talent
Price On Application
Senior Staff Engineer Coaching Plan (10+ Years Experience)
Three sessions focused on architectural leadership, organizational impact, and strategic decision-making
Session 1: From Code to Architecture
Objective: Elevate technical decision-making and system design capabilities.
Key Focus Areas:
- Strategic Trade-offs (Speed vs. scalability, short-term vs. long-term value)
- Modern Architecture Patterns (Event-driven, CQRS, hexagonal architecture)
- Legacy System Modernization (Strangler pattern, risk mitigation strategies)
- Cross-Cutting Concerns (Observability pipelines, security-by-design, cost optimization)
Interactive Activities:
- Critical analysis of a real-world system design challenge
- Architectural review role-play with non-technical stakeholders
Session 2: Engineering Leadership at Scale
Objective: Develop skills to lead without authority and drive organizational change.
Key Focus Areas:
- Influence & Mentorship (Creating tech radiance, growing future leaders)
- Driving Change (Overcoming institutional resistance to innovation)
- Stakeholder Alignment (Quantifying tech debt in business terms)
- Decision Frameworks (RFCs, ADRs, consensus-building techniques)
Interactive Activities:
- Tech debt vs. feature prioritization case study
- "Hard conversations" simulation (pushing back on unrealistic demands)
Session 3: Organizational Impact
Objective: Move beyond team-level to organizational leadership and strategic influence.
Key Focus Areas:
- Metrics That Matter (DORA, SPACE framework, productivity signals)
- Cross-Functional Leadership (Aligning engineering with product and business goals)
- Innovation Strategies (20% time, hackathons, calculated risk-taking)
- Career Growth (Staff+ competencies, executive presence, thought leadership)
Interactive Activities:
- Drafting an org-wide initiative proposal (1-pager format)
- Promotion committee simulation (evaluating promo packets)
Key Differentiators for Senior-Level Coaching:
- Focus Shift from syntax to strategic patterns and organizational dynamics
- Emphasis Business alignment, cost of delay, and systems thinking
- Outcome Each session produces an actionable artifact (ADR template, initiative proposal)
Bonus Adaptations:
- Pre-Work: Analyze a controversial tech decision (e.g., microservices tradeoffs)
- Between Sessions: "Reverse mentoring" with product/executive partners
- Follow-Up: 30/60/90 day impact review of implemented strategies
Price On Application
Comparison with Junior Developer Coaching:
| Focus Area | Junior Plan | Senior Plan |
|---|---|---|
| Technical | Java/Spring basics | Architecture trade-offs |
| Collaboration | Standup participation | Org-wide change leadership |
| Output | Clean code | System design proposals |
| Success Metric | Task completion | Strategic impact |
