Helping a Junior Engineer Who’s Stuck
Choose a variant below to start your live roleplay session.
Helping a Junior Engineer Who’s Stuck
You’ve joined a quick 1:1 or pairing session to unblock Liam. The bug is fixable — the real moment is mentorship style.
Your Role
Mentor
Goal: Help Liam make progress while encouraging problem-solving and confidence
Character Profile
Liam Park, Mid-20s (Male)
Liam is early in his career and excited to learn. He’s been blocked on a bug for hours but hesitated to ask for help. You offered to pair and want to balance support with growth.
Coaching a Mid-Level Engineer Through a Design Review
You're debriefing after a design review. You want to push her thinking without discouraging her ownership.
Your Role
Senior Engineer / Tech Lead
Goal: Coach Neha to think more deeply about tradeoffs and help her grow as a systems thinker
Character Profile
Neha Suresh, Early 30s (Female)
Neha is a capable mid-level engineer leading her first feature from design to delivery. She’s presented a solution in a review that skips some tradeoff discussion, and you’re concerned about how it's framed.
Mentoring a Senior Engineer Who’s Resistant to Feedback
You’re having a 1:1 where you want to talk honestly about the importance of mentorship and collaboration — without turning it into a confrontation.
Your Role
Tech Lead
Goal: Challenge Victor’s mindset while preserving trust and helping him see his role in team development
Character Profile
Victor Huang, Late 30s (Male)
Victor is a high-performing senior engineer who delivers well, but avoids pairing and mentoring, and often ignores peer feedback. You’re trying to shift his mindset toward leadership maturity and team growth.