Team Onboarding
Pre-Onboarding
- Create accounts (email, Slack, GitHub, AWS, etc.) with SSO/2FA
- Prepare hardware, temporary credentials, password manager guide
- Compile role-specific docs, update org charts
- Configure calendar with initial meetings
Week 1: Orientation & Immersion
Day 1: Manager welcome, team intros, role expectations, IT setup, HR paperwork
Codebase:
- Architecture overview and system diagrams
- Main repos walkthrough with tech lead
- Dev workflow, branching strategy, code style
- CI/CD, deployment, monitoring tour
First Contributions:
- "Good first issues" tasks
- Pair programming on simple fix
- Submit first PR with buddy guidance
Dev Environment Setup
- IDE + extensions, linters, formatters, debugger, git config
- Database connections (read-only initially), API keys via secrets manager
- Container setup, testing framework, staging access
Buddy System
| Week |
Frequency |
Activities |
Time |
| 1 |
Daily |
Check-in, pair programming |
2 hrs/day |
| 2-3 |
3x/week |
Code review, architecture |
1 hr/day |
| 4 |
2x/week |
Project collaboration |
30 min/day |
| 5-8 |
Weekly |
Progress check-in |
1 hr/week |
| 9-12 |
Bi-weekly |
Mentorship transition |
30 min/week |
Milestones
30-Day
- Complete mandatory training, merge 3+ PRs
- Document one process, present learnings (10 min)
60-Day
- Own small feature end-to-end, shadow on-call
- Contribute to technical design, cross-team relationships
90-Day
- Independent feature delivery, active code review
- Mentor newer member, propose process improvement
Example Plans
Software Engineer (30/60/90)
Day 1-7: IT setup, team intros, dev env, first PR, architecture sessions
Week 2-4: 5+ PR reviews as observer, shadow senior, document unclear process
Day 31-60: Own first feature, design review, shadow on-call, pair with 3+ members
Day 61-90: Lead small project, participate in planning, handle on-call with supervision
Senior/Lead Engineer (Accelerated)
Week 1: Leadership intros, full architecture deep-dive, priorities briefing, stakeholder meetings
Week 2-3: Review postmortems, analyze tech debt, audit processes, identify quick wins
Week 4: Lead first ceremony, own critical decision, establish 1:1 cadence, submit architectural proposal
1---2name: team-onboarding3description: Comprehensive onboarding methodology for new team members covering pre-boarding through 90-day milestones. Use when planning onboarding, creating checklists, or establishing team integration processes.4---5
6# Team Onboarding
7
8## Pre-Onboarding
9
10- Create accounts (email, Slack, GitHub, AWS, etc.) with SSO/2FA
11- Prepare hardware, temporary credentials, password manager guide
12- Compile role-specific docs, update org charts
13- Configure calendar with initial meetings
14
15## Week 1: Orientation & Immersion
16
17**Day 1:** Manager welcome, team intros, role expectations, IT setup, HR paperwork
18
19**Codebase:**
20- Architecture overview and system diagrams
21- Main repos walkthrough with tech lead
22- Dev workflow, branching strategy, code style
23- CI/CD, deployment, monitoring tour
24
25**First Contributions:**
26- "Good first issues" tasks
27- Pair programming on simple fix
28- Submit first PR with buddy guidance
29
30## Dev Environment Setup
31
32- IDE + extensions, linters, formatters, debugger, git config
33- Database connections (read-only initially), API keys via secrets manager
34- Container setup, testing framework, staging access
35
36## Buddy System
37
38| Week | Frequency | Activities | Time |
39|------|-----------|------------|------|
40| 1 | Daily | Check-in, pair programming | 2 hrs/day |
41| 2-3 | 3x/week | Code review, architecture | 1 hr/day |
42| 4 | 2x/week | Project collaboration | 30 min/day |
43| 5-8 | Weekly | Progress check-in | 1 hr/week |
44| 9-12 | Bi-weekly | Mentorship transition | 30 min/week |
45
46## Milestones
47
48### 30-Day
49- Complete mandatory training, merge 3+ PRs
50- Document one process, present learnings (10 min)
51
52### 60-Day
53- Own small feature end-to-end, shadow on-call
54- Contribute to technical design, cross-team relationships
55
56### 90-Day
57- Independent feature delivery, active code review
58- Mentor newer member, propose process improvement
59
60## Example Plans
61
62### Software Engineer (30/60/90)
63
64**Day 1-7:** IT setup, team intros, dev env, first PR, architecture sessions
65**Week 2-4:** 5+ PR reviews as observer, shadow senior, document unclear process
66**Day 31-60:** Own first feature, design review, shadow on-call, pair with 3+ members
67**Day 61-90:** Lead small project, participate in planning, handle on-call with supervision
68
69### Senior/Lead Engineer (Accelerated)
70
71**Week 1:** Leadership intros, full architecture deep-dive, priorities briefing, stakeholder meetings
72**Week 2-3:** Review postmortems, analyze tech debt, audit processes, identify quick wins
73**Week 4:** Lead first ceremony, own critical decision, establish 1:1 cadence, submit architectural proposal