The job of a software engineer at Stripe is not solely code. The job is to deliver business value, and that requires communicating with others across and outside of the organization. I’ve been at Stripe for over five years. I would not have lasted five months if I just sat at my desk and coded all day.

Engineers at Stripe wear many hats, depending on the project. My best example is Paper Checks. I’ve been an engineer, project manager, sales support, designer, support personnel, docs writer, and even visited lockbox facilities. I learned and did a lot on the project, and loved it. None of that happens if engineers just sit and code. We don’t get all the information about the flow of data and paper, and we build a poor product.

The same goes for internal projects. I was a DRI for a complex rewrite of our system. I regularly worked with six other teams to ship that project. That project doesn’t happen without communication.