How Sonos Welcomes New Early Talent

Onboarding software engineers is often a challenging, unpredictable, and unstructured experience in today's tech industry. Sonos sought to change this perception with our new hire cohort, starting our early talent onboarding journey earlier this year. This blog post will outline the structure of this onboarding process, the projects undertaken by new hires, the connections they forged with individuals across Sonos, and the positive outcomes observed from this new approach.

First Impressions & Initial Setup

As part of a renewed effort to bring more junior talent into the industry, Sonos recruited six new graduate Software Engineers: Ricardo Alvarado (Boston University), Sydney Dell (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), Justin Huey (University of California, Berkeley), Isaac Cho (Wheaton College), Sara Song (Carnegie Mellon University), and Camilo Cordoba (Worcester Polytechnic Institute). Our first day in Boston was spent acquainting ourselves with each other and the company. We also had the opportunity to meet Tom Conrad (our Interim CEO at the time), familiarize ourselves with our respective teams, and connect with other recent hires at the office.

Our foundational week was spent immersing ourselves in Sonos’ culture, history, and objectives. We toured audio labs and test beds, listened in company-wide earnings meetings, and connected with mentors and managers. This period of introduction laid the groundwork for the following, more technical ramp-up.

The latter half of February was a whirlwind of activity, where we teamed up with our senior engineering buddies to get our mobile, cloud, and embedded environments all set up. This was quite the initiation! We waded through existing docs, leaning on our colleagues' expertise to get everything just right. It was a bit of a dance, but through this back-and-forth, we slowly but surely got everything organized. It was a really good learning curve for everyone involved, and we even got to sprinkle in our own bits to the documentation, making it a smoother ride for the next wave of Sonos newbies.

While the prospects of starting a new job in a challenging field such as tech was nerve racking and required all of us to step up to the plate, the help that we received from those around us was invaluable. There were still many more weeks of difficulties ahead of us but we all felt like we were in good hands.

Accelerated Ramp-Up and Projects

After setting up our environments, we embarked on a transformative month: four weeks of boot camp lectures and activities. This comprehensive program extended beyond our immediate teams; it was designed to teach us fundamental knowledge that could be applied to any software area at Sonos, fostering a "jack of all trades" mindset. As Sid Patel, VP of Software, aptly put it, we were being trained to be "Gap fillers."

In the month of March, we spent each week on a different subject matter. We delved into Sonos’ core engineering processes, the Sonos player and mobile application ecosystem, and the cloud systems holding everything together. These 4 weeks were challenging, with one of our technical leaders, David Lopez, remarking that we were “drinking from the firehose” to remind us that we were learning a lot in a short period of time. However, the preparations taken by the bootcamp presenters and organizers allowed us to feel prepared coming into the sessions, as well as giving us time to properly digest the information provided afterwards.

The bootcamp experience was intense yet controlled. Justin noted that the team "always answered our questions and went above and beyond to accommodate us." Isaac appreciated the dedicated space his team provided for "BOOTCAMP and Onboarding tasks as opposed to putting me on stuff as soon as possible."

Despite there being a lot to learn, onboarding felt paced and purposeful which allowed us to get a grip on the world we would be entering. By the end of this four-week period, we were ready for our next challenge. After the onboarding process ended, we were split randomly into two teams for our first project at Sonos. Thanks to our two months of bootcamps, we already had all of the resources we needed to be successful. We had already met and connected with dozens of engineers, who acted as great resources for sharing ideas, helping us navigate the different tech stacks, and connecting us with the right people to answer our questions.

The best part about working on a new project was that we were able to contribute to not only the technical aspects of the work, but also join discussions about design. We also never worked in silos and always collaborated, which made our work feel more meaningful. This is something that a lot of new hires don’t get to experience when they first join a company.

Sydney, Ricardo, and Justin collaborated with tech leads Gary Chan and Kelsey McCarthy on a two-part project called the Alpha-Feedback-Issue-Router (AFIR). The first part of the project focused on leveraging AWS and AI to automate the distribution of unassigned tasks to various teams within the company. The second part also utilized AI, aiming to classify user-reported issues into categories and identify duplicate issues by searching through Jira for similar entries.

Camillo, Sara, and Isaac worked with tech lead Vivian Li on the ‘Self-Help’ project. The goal of this project was to allow users to self-diagnose any issues they may be experiencing with their system. This involved connecting the mobile app to Sonos’ internal diagnostic tool, and designing/implementing new screens in the app for the user to access it. Through this new feature, users would be able to see specific issues/symptoms flagged by their last-submitted diagnostic.

Culture and Connection: Beyond the Code and into the Sonos Team

When starting a new job, the onboarding process can often feel overwhelming socially as well, a blur of new faces. However, at Sonos, the experience goes far beyond the typical, focusing on fostering a sense of belonging and connection from day one. This isn't just about learning the ropes; it's about becoming part of the Sonos Team, where genuine relationships are built and well-being is prioritized.

Senior engineers and Directors fostered a welcoming environment during onboarding, through both setup and bootcamps. We had the opportunity to meet everyone beyond the professional workplace. They actively engaged in conversations, building connections and encouraging discussions beyond work-related topics. This approach allowed for casual yet meaningful dialogue, similar to conversations one would have with a coworker. If a bootcamp section was going on for too long, we could take a quick bio break to cool our heads. These interactions allowed a feeling of closeness with our office mates that we would be soon to spend a third of our week days with.

Beyond fostering connections with senior and director engineers, we new hires also had ample opportunities to connect with our peer junior engineers. Through fun events like darts, cookie-decorating, movie nights, and our bi-monthly office lunches and happy hours, we were able to build strong relationships outside of the typical work environment.

While Sonos the company put these events on our calendars, it was the people working for the company that really shaped each one into what they were: welcoming events that were full of life and allowed us to settle in more comfortably with each other as we entered a new chapter of our lives.

Conclusion

From day one, the Sonos onboarding experience exceeded traditional expectations. By prioritizing a structured yet flexible approach, fostering a culture of continuous learning, and emphasizing genuine connection, Sonos successfully integrated its new engineering talent. The design of the onboarding process, from fast moving set up to intensive bootcamps and hands-on projects, equipped new hires not just with technical skills but also with a profound sense of belonging and readiness to contribute meaningfully. This comprehensive and supportive environment not only smoothed the transition into Sonos but also empowered new engineers to become valuable "gap fillers" and integral members of the Sonos Team.

We’re always excited to meet people who share our passion for sound. Stay connected with Sonos on LinkedIn and keep an eye on our Careers Page for opportunities to join us.