How I Scaled a Systems Engineering Team 3x Without Breaking Culture

When I took over leadership of the Systems Engineering team at Solace, we were at an inflection point. The company was pivoting from a hardware-centric appliance business to a modern software-first organization. We needed to grow, and we needed to do it fast.

But scaling a technical team is a minefield. Move too slow, and you miss revenue targets. Move too fast, and you dilute the very culture that made the company successful in the first place.

At Solace, that culture was our competitive advantage: a relentless “customer-first” mindset where every engineer was willing to jump in the trenches to help a colleague. My challenge wasn’t just to triple the headcount from 5 to 15; it was to do so while preserving that DNA.

Here is the framework I built to scale the team, drive revenue, and keep attrition near zero.

1. The “Builder” Interview Process

Solace occupies a unique space in the market. Our product is deeply technical (event-driven architecture, PubSub+), but our Sales Engineers (SEs) must also articulate high-level business value to C-suite prospects. Finding candidates who speak both “code” and “strategy” is like finding a needle in a haystack.

To solve this, I overhauled our interview process to focus on demonstration over declaration.

We implemented a standardized “Build & Pitch” challenge. After an initial screening, candidates are asked to build a working prototype using Solace technology and present it to a panel.

• The Simulation: The panel (myself, peer SEs, and a Sales Director) role-plays as prospects.
• The Scoring: We evaluate not just technical accuracy, but presentation capability, objection handling, and business acumen.

This removed the guesswork. We didn’t have to wonder if a candidate could handle a tough room; we watched them do it before we signed the offer letter.

2. The “Buddy” System as a Behavioral Filter

A rigorous technical interview can intimidate good candidates. To counterbalance this, I introduced a mentorship component to the interview phase.

Every candidate is assigned a “Buddy”—a current member of my team—to help them prepare for their presentation. This serves a dual purpose:

1. Candidate Experience: It sets the candidate up for success, showing them that our culture is collaborative, not cutthroat.
2. Resourcefulness Test: It allows me to see if the candidate is willing to ask for help and leverage available resources—a critical trait for success at Solace.

If a candidate tries to “lone wolf” the assignment and ignores their mentor, it’s a red flag. If they engage, ask questions, and iterate based on feedback, I know they will fit our culture.

3. Weekly Rituals: Syncs and Knowledge Sharing

Scaling requires structure. You cannot rely on hallway conversations when your team is spread across North and South America. I established two non-negotiable weekly rhythms:

• The 1:1 Pulse Check: I meet with every direct report weekly. We discuss deal progress, sure, but we also focus on roadblocks and long-term career aspirations. This isn’t micro-management; it’s obstacle removal.
• The “Town Hall” & Knowledge Share: We hold a weekly team call that is strictly educational. One team member presents on an interesting project, a new architecture pattern, or a customer win. This keeps the team technically sharp and ensures that knowledge isn’t siloed in one region.

4. Servant Leadership: Leading from the Trenches

I believe the best leaders are those who know the weight of the shovel. My leadership style is defined by servant leadership—not just in removing administrative blockers, but in sharing the technical load.

I make it a point to roll up my sleeves and build alongside the team. Whether it’s architecting a complex Proof of Concept (PoC) to unlock a stalled deal or coding a custom demo for a critical prospect, I stay hands-on.

This serves two strategic purposes:

1. Credibility: It earns the respect of the engineers. They know I’m not asking them to do anything I haven’t done or couldn’t do myself.
2. Empathy: By keeping my hands dirty, I maintain a visceral understanding of the daily technical friction my team faces. It keeps me grounded in the reality of the job, ensuring that my strategic decisions are practical, not theoretical.

5. Leadership by Presence

In a remote-first world, it is easy to become a “Zoom Manager.” I believe leadership happens in the room.

I made a commitment to travel weekly, meeting customers or team members face-to-face. Whether it’s whiteboarding a solution with a client in New York or grabbing dinner with an engineer in Ohio, these physical touchpoints build the trust equity required to lead through high-pressure quarters. You cannot email empathy.

The Result: Growth with Retention

This approach—rigorous practical hiring, supported onboarding, structured development, and high-touch servant leadership—delivered results.

We successfully tripled the team size, meeting the company’s aggressive growth targets. But the metric I am most proud of is retention. Even during peak labor market demand, our attrition remained incredibly low.

We proved that you don’t have to choose between speed and quality. If you build the right scaffolding, you can scale a high-performance team that actually enjoys working together.