At Ellevation Education, we believe that a strong engineering organization is not just one that delivers results — it’s one that grows its people. That’s why we’re embracing engineer mobility: the ability for individual contributors to move across teams in a way that’s intentional, aligned with business needs, and beneficial to both the engineer and the broader organization.
This isn’t about shuffling people constantly. It’s about cultivating a culture where movement is supported, onboarding is thoughtful, and engineers are empowered to grow — all while maintaining team cohesion and delivering on our goals.
Why Engineer Mobility Matters
We’ve seen firsthand how internal mobility opens doors — for both people and teams. When engineers shift into new domains, they bring fresh perspectives, broaden their technical and product expertise, and develop a richer understanding of our platform and users. These experiences not only accelerate individual growth but also strengthen our collective engineering culture.
Mobility also sparks innovation. Teams benefit from new voices and diverse problem-solving approaches, helping us avoid stagnation and stay agile in a fast-changing space. Over time, these cross-team movements reinforce shared practices and values, making it easier for us to collaborate, integrate products, and move forward as one unified organization.
Navigating the Tradeoffs
Of course, mobility isn’t without its challenges. Transitions can disrupt team dynamics and come with a ramp-up cost. But we see that as an opportunity — not a roadblock. Engineer movement pushes us to improve our onboarding, documentation, and knowledge sharing. These investments don’t just reduce friction during transitions — they make our entire organization more resilient and scalable.
When managed thoughtfully, mobility becomes a tool for alignment and acceleration, not a source of instability.
How We Approach Mobility at Ellevation
We focus our mobility efforts on individual contributor engineers, rather than product or team leadership roles. This ensures that we maintain strategic continuity on teams while still offering engineers room to grow and explore new challenges.
That doesn’t mean our leaders never move — they do, occasionally and with care. But roles like Product Managers, Engineering Managers, UX Designers, and Staff Engineers are often deeply embedded in a team’s strategic direction. Stability in these roles helps preserve the long-term vision we’re working toward.
A Stronger, More Unified Organization
At the heart of this effort is a simple idea: mobility makes us stronger. It supports individual growth, encourages innovation, and helps us build the kind of cross-functional relationships that are essential for deep product integration.
We’re excited to continue evolving this practice — and to share what we learn along the way. Because when engineers grow, so does Ellevation.
