Engineering leadership mentorGet promoted, get paid,get unstuck.
Hi, I'm Marian. AI freak , ex-Principal Software Architect at 
. Ex-VP of Engineering at 
, helped build it into a $2bn+ 💰 unicorn, from 8 to 80 teams. 317 leaders mentored since 2019, at 60+ companies.
Walk me through your situation.
Book a free video intro →
"Changed how I view my role and the role of engineering in the org."
— Marek Trunkát
CTO, Apify
Ladislav NovákCEO, Jablotron"Direct and specific. Never generic. Something to apply right away."
— Filip Masár
Staff Engineer, Kiwi.com
Ľuboš PráznovskýDirector of SW Development, Tatra banka
Marek TrunkátCTO, Apify
Anna StreblCEO, Confirmo
Petr KubelkaEngineering Manager, Mews"Part of helping scale up our technical teams from 35 to 100 people."
— Matthijs Welle
CEO, Mews
Live data
Marian's live mentoring data
Pulled live from the mentoring log. Staff engineers to CTOs, 17+ countries, CEE to San Francisco. Mentees rate every session from 0 to 10 right after it. Since 2024 the average is 9.79.
- People mentored since 2019317+
- # sessions3,662+
- Last mentoring at2026-11-02 10:00
Role distribution
Of 317 mentees: IC to Leader 10% (32) · Line Manager 27% (86) · Product Managers 20% (63) · Mid-level Managers 23% (73) · Top Managers 20% (63).
By title: Tech Lead 6% (19) · Staff/Principal 4% (13) · Engineering Manager 17% (54) · Team Lead 10% (32) · PM 11% (35) · Product Director 6% (19) · Product Owner 3% (10) · Chapter Lead 3% (10) · Tribe Lead 4% (13) · Director 6% (19) · VP Engineering 6% (19) · Head of Engineering 4% (13) · CTO 12% (38) · CPO 5% (16) · CEO/Founder 3% (10).
Active mentees, last 12 months
Nov '25 to Oct '26: 11 to 16 active mentees a month against a cap of 16. 3 seats open in Oct '26. Source: the session log, republished at every build, last 2026-11-02.
Nov '25: 13 · Dec '25: 12 · Jan '26: 16 · Feb '26: 13 · Mar '26: 11 · Apr '26: 13 · May '26: 13 · Jun '26: 12 · Jul '26: 13 · Aug '26: 12 · Sep '26: 13 · Oct '26: 13
I cap my own 1:1s at 16 in parallel. Hollow dots are open seats. Grab one →
Where my clients come from.
Engineering leaders at scale-ups, banks, and global product companies. Czech, Slovak, EU, US.
My differentiator
9.79/10
average session rating since 2024
If you ever rate a session under 8/10, you don't pay for it.
You rate every session from 0 to 10 right after it. Under 8, it's free, and your feedback tells me what to fix. The guarantee costs me nothing. It keeps me sharp and keeps us fair.
Walk me through your situation.
What mentees say →Direct. No esoteric bullshit.
I’m not a generic coach with a feel-good framework. I’ve sat in your seat. You get my opinion, the trade-off, and what I would do on Monday.
Homework every session.
This is not for people who only want to talk. We set strict KPIs in session 1, and a small homework after each session moves you toward them.
Not another engineering leadership coach.
01 / 06
Our sessions are an 8+/10
in value or free.
Your feedback tells me what to fix. Mentees rate every session from 0 to 10 right after it. Since 2024 the average is 9.79/10. Keeps me sharp, keeps us fair.
02 / 06
Been in the seat.
I helped build Mews into a $2bn+ unicorn: 8 to 80 teams, roadmap still shipping. I went through the shit.
03 / 06
CEE-native, US-fluent.
3 years in the Bay Area as a Principal Software Architect at Databricks. I understand US business drive and European culture.
04 / 06
Still highly technical. AI freak.
Bullshit me on estimate, effort, code quality or architecture and I'll ask to see the code or your AI skill set.
05 / 06
Financially independent.
I don't need your money. I'm financially retired. Seeing you grow is my payoff.
06 / 06
Direct.
Mentoring first. I boost you fast. No esoteric loops.
Engineering manager, director, CTO, staff engineer. Your seat, your fires.
Career, salary, and life
Salary negotiation, senior interview prep, imposter loop, burnout recovery, toxic manager.
Senior or Staff Engineer
Promotion mechanics, IC-to-Staff+ track, AI-augmented engineering, influence without authority.
Engineering Manager / Team Lead
Engineering manager coaching: first 90 days, 1:1s, PIPs, feedback, hiring, Product Trios, burnout recovery.
CTO / VPE / Head of Engineering
CTO coach and sparring partner: strategy, org design, board narratives, AI governance, due diligence.
Engineering Director / Tribe Lead
Engineering director mentor: shift from firefighting to strategy. Ship 80%+ of the roadmap. Lead through leaders.
Product Manager
Trust with engineering, Product Trios, prioritization, outcome-driven roadmaps.
AI Engineering Manager
Leading a team of AI engineers today, several agentic teams by 2027. Review standards, span, token budgets.
Head of AI
First in the seat. The mandate, the boundary with the CTO, the board number that is not adoption percentage.
Chief AI Officer
AI across every function. Operating model, board narrative, governance teams use, a technical second opinion with no stake.
How it works
The method, session by session.
Day 0 · Intro session
01The free 30-min intro.
You talk, I ask, you get honest feedback on whether I can help, plus initial advice. If we fit, we book Session 1. If not, I refer someone in my network. No prep. Confidential. Same week most weeks.
Book the free video intro →
Week 1 · Session 1
02Strict Goals First.
One from your company, a business objective from the roadmap. The other from you, a personal development goal from your PDP. Together they become your North Star for the next 3 to 6 months. Two measurable KPIs. Everything else is noise.
Browse mentoring by role →
Every session · Scope
03Your North Star, or whatever is on fire.
Two tracks. Track 1: we move your two KPIs forward. Track 2: something hit your desk this week, a resignation or a founder blow-up or a botched review or a runway call. We drop the roadmap. We solve that. Between sessions, text me 24/7 for the real fires.
Every session · Wrap-up
04Homework + trust.
Every session ends with mini-homework. Small. Doable. Moves one thing forward. Everything we agree lives in a shared Notion page we build together. Nothing lost between sessions. And what we say stays between us.
Frame · Mentoring first
05Mentoring first. Coaching follows.
You have a fire to put out tomorrow, not six sessions of "what do YOU think?" I've been in your seat. I tell you what worked. After session 4 or 5, once your table is cleaner, we shift toward coaching. Open questions, you driving the answers.
Month 3 · Outcomes
06You sleep well. Again.
You got hired, promoted, or you met your objectives. We check your goals, review the progress, and decide on the next mission for you or your team member.
Book the intro
See when I'm free. Pick a slot.
Free 30-min intro. Same week most weeks. Cold inquiries run 2-3 weeks out.
Book the intro. You can sleep well. Again. My job is to fix your situation.
Embed not loading? Book directly at marian.coach/meet or email marian@marian.coach, or call +420 736 519 879.
Ordering mentoring for someone on your team? I invoice the company, sign an NDA if you need one, and the intro call can run in Microsoft Teams. How it works for companies.
In writing
Rather write than talk? Tell me what’s going on.
I reply in writing within 1 working day. No call unless you want one.
Or email marian@marian.coach. I reply within 1 working day.
Got it. I reply in writing within 1 working day.
The reply comes from marian@marian.coach. Want to talk after all? Pick a 30-minute slot.
Pick a 30-min slot →Library
56 posts. Start where it hurts.
Everything I know that fits in writing. The mentoring is for the rest.
Your role
- Engineering leadership: what it really is
- Team Lead vs Tech Lead vs Engineering Manager
- Staff Engineer: what the role really is
- Engineering Director: what the role really is
- Head of Engineering: what the title means
- VP of Engineering: what the role owns
- CTPO: what a Chief Technology and Product Officer does
Getting promoted and paid
- Building a compensation model that holds up
- Want to get promoted? The developer's secret weapon
- How to excel in engineering management
- How to become a VP of Engineering: the three gaps
- 10x your market value: the 8-step playbook
- 10 questions to find the right engineering management role
- Should I become a team lead? A 6-dimension answer
Running the team
Gallery
In the room. With the audience.
3,662 sessions across 17 countries. Scroll to see the range.
ELC Conference, main stage
Conference keynote, full house
mDevCamp keynote, Prague
Jun 2026 · ELC meetup #39: 5 levels of AI adoption
May 2026 · ELC meetup #37: 12 steps to boost your value
Apr 2026 · ELC Conference
Mar 2026 · ELC meetup #36: interviews for AI-native candidates
Jan 2026 · ELC meetup #33: stop hiring unicorns, grow leaders
mDevCamp, Prague
Nov 2025 · ELC meetup #32: radical ownership
Nov 2025 · ELC meetup #31: boost your value on the market
Evening leadership talk
Oct 2025 · ELC meetup #30: AI dev tools, reality check
Sep 2025 · ELC meetup #29: leading through big change
Jun 2025 · ELC meetup #28: performance reviews like a king
Apr 2026 · ELC Conference
Workshop: measuring team productivity
Apr 2025 · ELC meetup #26: platform engineering in the wild
Apr 2025 · ELC meetup #25: earning a new team's trust
Apr 2026 · ELC Conference
Leadership workshop: why the roadmap slipped
Plato Elevate, San Francisco
Mar 2025 · ELC meetup #24: PM and EM synergies
Feb 2025 · ELC meetup #23: selling technical ideas
ELC meetup, audience Q&A
Apr 2026 · ELC Conference
Jan 2025 · ELC meetup #20: saving one day a week with AI
Dec 2024 · ELC meetup #19: the real role of Staff/Principal devs
In-house leadership workshop
Nov 2024 · ELC meetup #17: Agile is dead. Now what?
ELC meetup, Prague
FAQ