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Engineering coach

For VPs of Engineering, heads of engineering, directors, and technical founders who need an experienced partner, not a coach who has only read about org charts.

Also see CTO coaching · First-time CTO coaching

Who hires an engineering coach?

Clients are the people accountable for delivery, quality, and team health, often without the air cover a seasoned CTO expects. You may be a VP of Engineering partnering with a product leader, a head of engineering at a growth-stage company, a director stepping into multi-team scope, or a technical founder who still owns architecture and hiring.

If you are already in the CTO seat with board-level scope, you may prefer the framing on our CTO coaching page. The engagement style is the same practitioner-led coaching; this page is optimized for leaders who want language and examples that match their title and remit.

What we work on

Every engagement is different, but engineering leaders often bring themes like:

  • Executive leadership: upward, cross-functional, and with the board when you are in the room
  • Preparing for a CTO transition or a larger mandate
  • Building a credible roadmap and operating rhythm with product and GTM
  • Manager quality: promotions, feedback culture, and delegation
  • Technical debt and rewrites without freezing the business
  • AI adoption, developer productivity, and governance that scales
  • Org design as you grow past one team or one geography

Why Leigh Newsome

Leigh has been an engineer and a CTO. He has lived the arc from shipping code to running large engineering organizations, across software and hardware, analytics, and high-stakes product environments. He is a Partner at Hoola Hoop and teaches in New York University Steinhardt's Music Technology graduate program, with a cross-disciplinary technical background that shows up in how he coaches leaders on systems thinking and communication under pressure.

You get executive coaching with engineering context, not abstract leadership platitudes. Sessions are confidential, candid, and focused on decisions you are facing this quarter.

How engagements work

Most clients meet weekly or bi-weekly. The first step is a no-pressure discovery call to align on goals and fit. Remote and hybrid work worldwide; in-person available in Manhattan.

Book a Discovery Call →
Leigh Newsome, engineering coach and CTO coach

Leigh Newsome

Engineering coach and CTO coach. Former operator; 25+ years with engineering leaders from startup to IPO.

Book a Call →

Related pages

CTO coaching: full executive scope, strategy, and board dynamics.

First-time CTO coaching: first 90 days and credibility.

Common questions

Engineering coaching FAQ

What does an engineering coach do?

Focuses on leadership, org, and strategy for people who run engineering, not on writing your code for you. Expect hard conversations about tradeoffs, stakeholders, and how you show up as an executive.

Do I need the CTO title?

No. Many clients are VPs, heads of engineering, or founders. What matters is the scope of the problems you own.

Engineering coach vs. CTO coach?

Overlapping skill set; different emphasis in how we describe the work. CTO coaching pages speak explicitly to the most senior technology executive; this page speaks to the broader set of engineering leaders who want the same practitioner depth.

Where are sessions held?

Video worldwide; Manhattan for in-person when scheduling allows.