Senior Technical Lead Manager & Software Mentor

Empowering software engineers to advance their careers and become senior technical leaders, without burning out.

Andrea Angella · 6x Microsoft MVP (C#/.NET)

25+ years of shipping software, 5+ of them leading teams.

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The story

What got me here almost stopped me.

For years, I did everything right. I worked harder than anyone on my team. I volunteered for every project. I kept a running list of everything I'd contributed and made sure my manager knew about it. And I still didn't get promoted. I was burning out, and I was doing it wrong.

What nobody told me was that what got me to Senior Engineer was exactly what was holding me back from the next level. Technical excellence alone doesn't make you a leader. Doing more doesn't create more impact. And trying to prove your worth by saying yes to everything is a fast track to exhaustion, not promotion.

It took a mentor, a complete mindset shift, and years of hard lessons to figure out what actually works. That's the roadmap I now share with every software professional I work with.

Then

Grew up in Villafranca in Lunigiana, Italy. Started coding at 8 on a Casio calculator, then spent my school years writing 2D games in C and C++ so my friends had something to play. Bronze Medal, Italian Olympiad in Informatics, 2003. Kept shipping through university: websites, a video library management system, and a Computer Science Engineering degree at the University of Pisa.

The move

Moved to the UK in 2010, chasing bigger engineering problems and a wider stage. Started with four months of intensive English lessons in London, then settled in Cambridge, working at Autonomy Software, Citrix Systems, and Redgate Software in turn. Led the .NET Cambridge community for 8 years and became a Microsoft MVP along the way, before later relocating to Northampton.

Now

Based in Northampton, England. Senior Technical Lead Manager at Redgate, leading two engineering teams building cross-database DevOps tooling across SQL Server, Postgres, and MySQL. Went from doer to multiplier through leadership, coaching, and community building, and now runs a coaching and community practice on the side, helping other engineers make the same jump.

Experience

Where that experience came from.

25+years writing code

15+years as a professional engineer

6xMicrosoft MVP, C#/.NET

5,000+professionals helped

Oct 2022 to present

Senior Technical Lead Manager, Redgate

Leading Redgate's first large engineering team, 9 engineers across two sub-teams, by building a psychologically safe environment where engineers own outcomes, not tickets. Introduced lightweight structures like sub-team and epic leads to scale that ownership, and lean on AI-assisted engineering to compound the team's delivery speed further. Drove a modern cross-database comparison engine to GA, adding Postgres and MySQL support and integrating it into Flyway, turning Redgate from a SQL Server-only business into a cross-database DevOps platform. Along the way, the team's Developer Experience Index grew from 40% to 70%, build success rate from 20% to 90%, and PR throughput from 1.5 to 5+ per engineer per week, placing the team in the P90 percentile industry-wide on the DX Core 4 benchmark. Also led Redgate's Technical Lead peer group for two years and hired engineers and tech leads across all levels.

Mar 2021 to Oct 2022

Lead Software Engineer, Redgate

Led delivery of the flyway check command and new schema comparison, code analysis, and drift detection features for Flyway Enterprise. Acted as de-facto engineering manager for six months during a leadership gap. Founded Redgate's internal engineering mentoring program, now connecting hundreds of engineers with mentors.

Jan 2014 to Oct 2021

Senior Software Engineer, Redgate

Mentored and line-managed junior engineers and interns. Designed the Database Server Estate dashboard for SQL Monitor, used by enterprise customers to monitor 120K+ databases. Built automatic keyboard code completion for SQL Prompt, used daily by 100K developers. Took SQL Compare's automated test coverage from 50% to 90%.

Dec 2010 to Jan 2014

Software Development Engineer, Citrix Systems UK

Cloud Gateway project, building backend APIs for Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops. Started an internal Knowledge Sharing Sessions initiative.

Feb 2010 to Nov 2010

Software Developer, Autonomy Software, Cambridge

Built a 3D search UI, delivered early.

2004 to 2009

Web and Windows developer roles in Italy, while studying

Websites, a video library management system, municipal software, and an engineering-firm placement in Pisa.

From age 8

Self-taught programmer, mostly 2D games

Learned to code writing 2D games in C and C++, to get friends playing at school and beyond.

Management approach

Builds psychologically safe teams where engineers own outcomes, not tickets. Treats AI-assisted engineering as a lever for team-wide delivery speed, not just individual output, without trading away quality or a sustainable pace.

Recognition

Microsoft MVP, six times since 2017. C# Corner MVP, 2018. UK tech award finalist shortlist, 2024.

★ Overall business award winner, for launching Productive C# Platinum

Side builds

"The Light Game" for Windows Phone: 200K+ downloads and the #1 arcade game in the US. A cross-platform Smart Card Open Test Toolkit in C++.

M.Sc. Computer Science Engineering

University of Pisa, 2009. 110/110 summa cum laude, Certificate of Excellence. Specialised in web and embedded systems.

Certifications

Microsoft Certified: Azure Developer Associate. Microsoft Specialist: Programming in C#. Cisco CCNA. MCTS ASP.NET 2.0 (2009). MCTS WPF 4.0 (2011). Level 4 European Qualification in network management and security, Tuscany Region (2009).

Mentoring & coaching

Private coaching and mentoring, for highly ambitious software professionals.

This is my main focus now: 1:1 work with engineers aiming at senior, lead, or staff roles, and with engineers transitioning into engineering management. Outcome-based, and highly individualized around what you actually need, not a fixed template.

How it works

I blend coaching, mentoring, and teaching, reading which one you need, when you need it. Built on the GROW model, applied to real engineering careers, not theory.

Book a chat

GoalWhat does "next level" actually look like for you.
RealityAn honest look at where you are today, and why.
OptionsThe moves available to you, not just the obvious one.
WillWhat you'll actually commit to doing next.

Results

What changes when someone commits.

Real outcomes from the engineers I've coached and mentored.

Jonathan

Software Engineer

Joined as unemployed
Developed his interview skills
Secured a new job within 3 months of joining the program

Watch Jonathan's story →

Diego

Mechanical Engineer

Joined as an absolute beginner
Built a good working knowledge of Python in 5 months
Already applying the new software skills at work for data analysis

Tito

Software Engineer

Joined as a small business owner doing projects
Transitioned to a full-time job
Enjoying a better work-life balance with his family

Luca

Software Engineer

Transitioned from Java to .NET
Increased responsibilities and was promoted to team lead
25% salary increase 8 months after joining the program

"He's very focused on practice and very helpful in answering all my questions."

Vadzim Papou, Software Engineer

Watch the video →

"Andrea delivers this and more, with an amazing ability to explain complex topics concisely."

Matteo Baglini, Software Craftsman

"His videos and articles have been enormously useful in shaping my approach to software development."

Nicola Baldi, Senior Developer, YOOX NET-A-PORTER GROUP

"Being able to get the latest features and technologies in C# and .NET on a weekly basis."

Corinne Perry, .NET Developer

"Andrea can explain complex topics in short and useful videos, and keeps me informed about all the latest .NET news."

Alexey Shestialtynov, Software Engineer

"I love the practical C# videos, the regular news, and the resources shared by Andrea."

Tom Gauden, Project Manager

"Andrea challenges you to practice, and he guides you if you get stuck. That's the perfect way to learn."

Kiran Nandedkar, .NET Developer

"Andrea is one of the most passionate developers I've met. He's committed to personal development, and I'm sure you'll learn something by listening to him."

Jeff Foster, Head of Product Engineering, Redgate Software

"No frills and lots of code, this is what Andrea's teaching is about. His essential and effective style will easily get you through the code."

Mario Martellini, Project Manager, JeMa s.r.l.

"Andrea is always up-to-date with the latest development in C#, no wonder he's been awarded the MVP title. His short, straight-to-the-point videos save me time."

ChengVoon Tong, Tech Entrepreneur

"Since I started working with Andrea, I quickly expanded and improved my technical skills. He helps me stay current with .NET and all the latest C# features."

Luca Gagliano, .NET/SharePoint Developer

"I watch Andrea's videos after work. Being able to download the code has let me master new techniques and use them with my team."

Stefano D'Onofrio, Solution Developer, Exigy

Watch the video →

"Andrea is a mentor and software craftsman who is highly passionate about programming. He explains complex topics in an extremely simple and professional way."

Aziz Sydikov, Software Craftsman

Watch the video →

"The topics shared by Andrea and the way he explains them are very helpful. Saving time is the biggest benefit for me."

Cemal Polat, Freelance Developer

"Andrea's teaching gets the perfect balance of clear, concise information without the fluff or filler which can slow down and discourage learning."

Gilles Milaire, Tech Lead

Programs I've run before.

For credibility, not enrollment. Both of these are closed or retired.

Productive C# Membership

The original community membership, running since 2018. Retired as the focus shifted to Engineers Together.

Retired

Productive C# Platinum

A year-long, high-ticket mastermind and mentoring program. Small cohort, hands-on. Recognized as overall business award winner for this launch.

Closed

Communities

Building the rooms where engineers grow together.

18+ years building communities: DotNetToscana, .NET Cambridge, and Productive C#, each led for 8 years.

Engineers Together

A free WhatsApp community for software professionals: a place to learn, share, and grow together every day. In the era of AI, a strong network of practitioners who genuinely want to learn and grow is one of the most durable assets in a career.

Not a broadcast channel: everyone is expected to bring real experience and take part, not just consume content. Open to anyone in software, whatever their role or seniority, on any topic that matters: coding, AI, cloud, architecture, leadership, career, and mentoring included.

Join for free →

Open to everyone in softwareAny role, any level of experience, not just developers.
Contribute, don't just consumeA place to bring your experience, not a broadcast feed to lurk in.
Any topic that mattersCoding, AI, cloud, leadership, career, architecture, and more.
120+ members and growingKept intimate and highly engaged, on purpose.

Productive C#

The original education and community brand. Ran for 8 years, supporting 5,000+ software professionals through courses, content, and community.

Still available as a one-time lifetime purchase: the existing content, no longer updated.

Get lifetime access →

DotNetToscana

Co-founded in 2008, with Marco Minerva and Matteo Baglini, at Microsoft Days in Florence. Led the official .NET community in Tuscany for 8 years.

dotnettoscana.org →

.NET Cambridge

Led this user group for 8 years, growing it to 1,500+ members. Core value: respect and humility over technical competence.

meetup.com/dotnetcambridge →

"The power of community is an inexhaustible source of wealth."

Podcasts & videos

Real conversations, published when they're ready.

For years this ran on a fixed weekly schedule. These days the pace is more relaxed, and I'd rather be upfront about that than pretend otherwise. My focus has shifted to private coaching and mentoring for a small number of highly ambitious engineers.

Engineering Together Podcast

The new show under the Engineers Together brand. Real conversations, practical insights.

Listen on Spotify →

Productive C# Podcast

Technical and career content for C# engineers. Revived in 2024, 43,000+ total plays.

Listen on Spotify →

YouTube

C# videos since March 2017, around 7,000 subscribers. Weekly for years, more occasional now. Most watched: "15 Reasons to Learn C# in 2024," around 18K views.

Watch on YouTube →

Some pieces worth reading.

The Ultimate List of C# Developers Resources

How to Become a Lead Software Engineer

Medium, Ingeniously Simple

Andrea Angella talking to camera, wearing an I Love C# t-shirt

15 Reasons Why You Should Learn C# in 2025

Andrea Angella's Goodreads reading challenge history

Learning from Audiobooks: My Journey from Reading to Listening

The Universal Architecture

A packed room at a .NET Cambridge user group meetup

How the Cambridge .NET User Group Was Born

Featured on Course Method

An interview on building Productive C#

Books

Books I recommend.

A serious reader: 50 to 70 audiobooks a year, peaking at 100 in 2021. Discovered audiobooks in 2017 and never stopped.

Software craft

Apprenticeship Patterns

Dave Hoover

A field guide for early and mid career developers on how to keep learning once formal education ends.

The Art of Unit Testing

Roy Osherove

A practical, opinionated guide to writing tests that actually catch bugs and survive contact with a real codebase.

Test-Driven Development: By Example

Kent Beck

The book that put red, green, refactor into the working vocabulary of professional software engineers.

The Algorithm Design Manual

Steven Skiena

The reference I still reach for when a problem needs real algorithmic thinking, not just pattern matching.

The Pragmatic Programmer

David Thomas & Andrew Hunt

Practical, timeless advice on the day-to-day craft of writing software well, the book a lot of senior engineers quietly built their habits on.

Head First Design Patterns

Eric Freeman & Elisabeth Robson

The most approachable way into design patterns, useful long before you're ready for the denser classics.

Working Effectively with Legacy Code

Michael Feathers

How to safely change code with no tests, a skill I lean on constantly leading teams that inherit other people's systems.

The Software Craftsman

Sandro Mancuso

Professionalism, pragmatism, and pride in the work, a mindset I try to pass on to every engineer I mentor.

A Philosophy of Software Design

John Ousterhout

A sharp, opinionated take on managing complexity, the real job behind most of what we call software design.

Agile Conversations

Douglas Squirrel & Jeffrey Fredrick

Treats the conversations engineering teams have, not just their code, as something worth engineering deliberately.

Career & staff growth

The Effective Engineer

Edmond Lau

How to spend your engineering effort where it actually moves outcomes, not just where it feels productive.

The Staff Engineer's Path

Tanya Reilly

The clearest map I've found for the individual contributor track, useful even from the management side of the fence.

Staff Engineer: Leadership Beyond the Management Track

Will Larson

Real case studies of what staff-plus engineering actually looks like across different companies and org shapes.

The Engineering Executive's Primer

Will Larson

A field guide for the leadership layer above staff engineer, where I spend more of my own time now.

Become an Effective Software Engineering Manager

James Stanier

A practical playbook for the jump from writing code to leading the people who write it.

Rookie Smarts

Liz Wiseman

A reminder that beginner's mind beats expertise more often than experienced people like to admit.

So Good They Can't Ignore You

Cal Newport

The case against "follow your passion": build rare, valuable skills first, and let purpose follow from there.

I'm Worth More

Rob Moore

A push to actually price your own value correctly, in negotiations and across your whole career.

Leadership & teams

Multipliers

Liz Wiseman

How the best leaders amplify the intelligence and capability of the people around them instead of dominating the room.

The Advantage

Patrick Lencioni

Why organizational health, not strategy or intelligence alone, is the biggest competitive edge a team can have.

Start with Why

Simon Sinek

Why the clearest leaders and organizations lead with purpose before tactics.

Impact Players

Liz Wiseman

What separates the engineers who get pulled into the important work from the ones who just do good work.

Radical Candor

Kim Scott

Care personally, challenge directly. The clearest framework I know for giving feedback people can actually use.

Leadership is Language

L. David Marquet

How the words leaders use either invite ownership or quietly kill it, from a submarine captain who rebuilt his crew's culture.

Extreme Ownership

Jocko Willink & Leif Babin

No blaming, own the response: the same principle behind one of my own core values, from two Navy SEAL officers.

First, Break All the Rules

Marcus Buckingham & Curt Coffman

What the best managers actually do differently, backed by data rather than management folklore.

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team

Patrick Lencioni

A fable that makes team dysfunction, and the trust underneath it, impossible to un-see.

Winning: The Unforgiving Race to Greatness

Tim Grover

An uncompromising look at what separates people who win from people who just compete, from Michael Jordan's trainer.

Leadership Styles: How to Discover and Leverage Yours

Mark Murphy

A practical breakdown of different leadership styles and when to switch between them, rather than picking one and forcing it everywhere.

Coaching & communication

The Ultimate Guide to Great Mentorship

Scott Jeffrey Miller

A practical playbook for the mentoring relationship, from both sides of the table.

Coaching for Performance

John Whitmore

The book that gave the world the GROW model, the same framework my own coaching and mentoring is built on.

The Coaching Habit

Michael Bungay Stanier

Seven questions that turn advice-giving into actual coaching. Short, practical, easy to use the same day.

The Prosperous Coach

Steve Chandler & Rich Litvin

Less about coaching technique, more about the courage to charge what your coaching is actually worth.

How to Win Friends and Influence People

Dale Carnegie

Still the foundation text on genuine interest in other people as a skill, not just a personality trait.

Influence, New and Expanded

Robert Cialdini

The psychology behind why people say yes, essential reading for anyone leading, selling, or negotiating.

Boundaries

Henry Cloud & John Townsend

How to say yes and no on purpose, instead of by default, at work and everywhere else.

The Confidence Gap

Russ Harris

A practical, ACT-based approach to acting confidently before you feel confident, not after.

Productivity & focus

Peak

Anders Ericsson

What the science of expertise actually says about deliberate practice, and why raw talent is overrated.

Getting Things Done

David Allen

The original system for getting everything out of your head and into something you trust, still the reference point for every method since.

The Power of Less

Leo Babauta

Fewer goals, fewer commitments, more follow-through. A useful counterweight to doing more of everything.

Atomic Habits

James Clear

Small, consistent systems beat big, motivated pushes. The clearest modern case for that idea.

Deep Work

Cal Newport

Why the ability to focus without distraction is becoming rarer, and more valuable, than ever.

Start Now. Get Perfect Later.

Rob Moore

A push against perfectionism as procrastination: ship the imperfect version and improve it in motion.

Decisive

Chip Heath & Dan Heath

A practical process for making better choices when gut instinct alone isn't enough.

Mindset & fulfilment

Think and Grow Rich

Napoleon Hill

The classic text on mindset, persistence, and definiteness of purpose behind long-term success.

The Courage to Be Disliked

Ichiro Kishimi & Fumitake Koga

An Adlerian case for living by your own values even when it costs you other people's approval.

The Laws of Human Nature

Robert Greene

A dense, occasionally uncomfortable look at the patterns behind how people actually behave, not how we'd like to think they do.

Mastery

Robert Greene

What it actually takes to become world-class at something, and why there's no shortcut around the apprenticeship years.

The Art of Happiness

Dalai Lama & Howard Cutler

A calm, practical case that happiness is a trainable skill rather than a stroke of luck.

The Values Factor

John Demartini

A framework for identifying what you actually value, instead of what you've been told you should.

Build the Life You Want

Arthur C. Brooks & Oprah Winfrey

The science of emotional wellbeing, paired with genuinely usable habits rather than platitudes.

Relentless: From Good to Great to Unstoppable

Tim Grover

What separates the merely great from the truly relentless, from the man who trained Jordan, Kobe, and Wade.

The 10X Rule

Grant Cardone

The case for setting targets ten times bigger than feels comfortable, then matching the effort to them.

Be Obsessed or Be Average

Grant Cardone

A loud, deliberately uncomfortable argument against moderation as a career strategy.

The Little Book of Ikigai

Ken Mogi

The Japanese concept of ikigai, a reason for being, broken into five pillars you can actually practice.

"An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest."

Full reading list on Goodreads →

Values

What I optimise for.

LoveLoving my family, my friends, my son, and life in general. Never forgetting that.
FreedomBuilding a life and career on my own terms.
LearningSelf-education compounds. Staying a permanent beginner.
CuriosityAlways open to learning something new and embracing different perspectives. A richness of opinions leads to better decisions, and better reflection on how to improve.
SharingKnowledge multiplies when it's given away. Teaching is how it sticks.
Authenticity100% of me, 100% of the time. Same person at work, at home, and online.
ResponsibilityEvent plus Response equals Outcome. No blaming, own the response.
MasteryCrafting the life I want, always striving to become better than who I was before.
RespectTreating others well and with kindness, aware that everyone is on their own journey, at their own stage.
PositivityAn optimist and enthusiast. Looking for the best in life, and staying positive even in the difficult moments.

Beyond work

The rest of who I am.

Work is one part of the story. The rest happens outdoors, in a good book, at the piano, or around a table with the people I love most.

Andrea Angella sharing coffee with family

Family, first and foremost

A father, first and foremost. Everything else on this page has to work sustainably around that, not instead of it. The people closest to me come first, and that's the actual filter I run every decision through, not just something I say.

Travel

Chasing warm places and time in nature. Travelled across Europe, aiming for every continent eventually.

Roots

Italian, from Villafranca in Lunigiana, between Tuscany and Liguria. Home is Northampton, England now.

Friends

A lot of my closest friends here are Italian. I help run Italiani al Dente, a community for Italians in Northampton, because I value real friendships, meaningful connections, and shared experiences over networking for its own sake.

Il Primo Amore

Piano

Reconnecting with piano as a creative outlet, still learning and enjoying being a beginner again. "Il Primo Amore," "The First Love," is a piece I wrote and recorded myself, named for my first love when I was young.

Most of my downtime looks like this: beautiful places, usually around Europe, exploring solo. I love meeting new people and having new experiences along the way, there's only one life to explore this world.

Andrea Angella watching the sunset over the sea

Andrea Angella on a boat off the Tuscan coast

Andrea Angella by a river in Lunigiana, Italy

Stay in the loop

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I'm not actively running a separate newsletter right now. Join Engineers Together, my free community, and you'll be first to hear if I launch something new.

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Get in touch

Say hello

LinkedIn is the fastest way to reach me, and where I'm most active. Prefer email? That works too, whether it's about coaching, a collaboration, or just to say hi. I read and reply to everything myself.

hello@angellaandrea.com

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