> - Thinking Engineers don't care about reasons for doing things

This sticks out to me. I think there's a growing dichotomy in industry among engineering managers.

There are those that don't want their engineers to care about the business reasons and just be cogs, maximizing their productivity. These tend to be prevalent in the FAANGs, in my experience.

Then there are those who prioritize like you do, maximizing engineer impact. I know that I can only function in this type of organization.

I think both sides are convinced that they are right...and maybe they are...but I sure wish it were easier to identify engineering organizations by their type ahead of hire.