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Scaling engineering teams from 5 to 50.

What works with 5 engineers stops working at 20. I've taken a team from 3 to 20+, so I know where it cracks and how to get through it.

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Josip Jurišić
Josip JurišićRigid d.o.o. · Remote/Hybrid · EU (CET)
LinkedIn ↗CV (PDF)
josip.config.json
{
  "focus": "hiring · delivery · team structure",
  "engagement": "interim | fractional",
  "industries": "product · fintech · mobile",
  "languages": "EN · DE · HR",
  "available": true
}
I TO NIJE SVE!
01the_scaling_problem

What changes between 5 and 20.

at_5
Everyone in one room. You ship fast.
at_10
Sub-teams, no management layer. Friction grows.
at_20
Ownership, coordination and retention all start to break.
the_inflection
The wall is at 12–18 engineers.
02scaling_framework

The framework.

1_hiring_pipeline
Designed roles, rubrics, data-driven offers.
2_team_structure
Product-area teams, each with a tech lead.
3_delivery_process
2-week sprints, 3–4 hours of ceremony total.
4_management_layer
One manager per 5–8 engineers. People, not code.
5_visibility
All-hands, async notes, public metrics.
6_standards
Shared expectations, not a rulebook.

Good structure unblocks people. "No structure" is just invisible bureaucracy.

03mistakes_that_kill_scaling

Where teams get stuck.

/01

Hiring without a process.

Mis-hires pile up and the team trains people it then loses. A designed pipeline fixes this first.

/02

No management layer.

A CTO with 15 direct reports stops managing. One manager per 5–8 engineers changes everything.

/03

No delivery cadence.

“It's done when it's done” wears everyone down. A two-week rhythm restores trust.

04real_scaling_example

How it looked when I did it.

Munich consumer app, 500K users. The first 12 months, starting from 3 engineers:

months_1-3

Foundation

Hiring pipeline, docs, 2-week sprint.

months_4-6

First hires

3 engineers in, teams by product area.

months_7-9

Management layer

First engineering manager coached in.

months_10-12

Consolidate

12 engineers, on-call, standards documented.

12hires, 2 misses
1× → 5×deploys per week
4 → 2 wksonboarding time
0unplanned turnover
05how_i_help

How I help you scale.

For EU product companies and tech teams of 5–50 engineers. Embedded for 3–6 months.

hiring_pipeline
Roles, screening, interview rubric, offer process.
team_structure
By product area, with clear tech lead ownership.
delivery_cadence
Sprints, planning, retros, all-hands.
first_managers
Find them, onboard them, coach them.
visibility
Metrics dashboard, decision log, communication cadence.
standards
Code review, on-call, incident response, technical debt policy.

By month 3 you have a system. By month 6 it runs without me. 2–3 days a week.

Let's talk about your scaling plans.

20 minutes. Your team size, your challenges, what comes next.

Get in touch josip.jurisic@rigid.hr