A field guide for the AI era · Vienna
Become the engineer who decides what gets built.
A field guide for software engineers (and PMs) moving into product engineering, in the AI era. From Vienna.
Built by Fathy Shalaby, a product engineer and founder in Vienna.
Read: one map for all the new titlesA map for the new titles
Four builder roles, split by where you start and who you serve.
Move across the map to see what changes—and what each path asks of you.
Many usersOne customer
Selected role
Read more Owns a product for many users, from user call to shipped metric.
A five-question compass
Which builder role fits you?
There isn't one right title. Start with the kind of problems you want to own.
Question 1 of 5
Get the field guide
Make the move with a little more clarity.
Practical notes, tools and event invites for people building their way into product engineering.
A thoughtful email when there's something worth sharing.
Why now
The role is changing faster than the job title.
Companies are hiring engineers who own outcomes, not tickets.
Most advice is for PMs. This is for engineers.
Free live session · Online
From builder to product engineer
Date to be announced
- What product engineers actually do
- The four builder roles—and where they overlap
- A 90-day plan to make the move
In person · Vienna
Nov 6, 2026 · 5:30–6:30 PM CETRegister on Luma Product Engineering · Vienna
From the field notes
All articles A place to start.
Product engineer, FDE, product builder: one map for all the new titles
A simple way to tell product engineers, forward-deployed engineers, product builders and solutions roles apart—and see where they overlap.
Read articleFrom software engineer to product engineer: a 90-day plan
A practical way to move from implementing tickets to owning a user problem, a solution and what happens after launch.
Read articleBuilding is solved. Deciding what to build isn’t.
AI is changing the cost of making software. The hard part is still choosing a useful problem and knowing whether the work mattered.
Read article
A note from the host
Made for people who want to build closer to the problem.
Fathy Shalaby built this guide for engineers who want to move closer to users, make product decisions, and own what ships. It turns hands-on product-building questions into practical tools for your next step.
Good questions
A few things you might be wondering.
What is a product engineer?
A product engineer combines strong technical craft with product judgment. They get close to users, decide what to build, ship it, and learn from the outcome.
Is this only for engineers?
No. The field guide is especially useful for engineers, but product managers, designers and founders will find a map of the builder roles and practical ways to work across them.
Is it free?
Yes. The newsletter, field notes and listed community sessions are free unless an event says otherwise.
Will there be guest interviews?
Guest conversations are a later step. We are focusing on the blog first and will share interviews once guests are confirmed.