Writing code well is no longer enough to grow as a senior, staff, or principal software engineer. Modern engineering careers demand architectural thinking, communication, leadership, and real-world influence beyond the codebase.

This talk explores how open source—specifically through contributions to Jakarta EE, the foundation of enterprise Java—provides a practical, battle-tested path to developing both hard and soft skills. Drawing from real experiences in the Jakarta EE ecosystem, the session highlights how contributing to standards, specifications, and community processes helps engineers sharpen design discipline, improve communication, build global credibility, and develop leadership skills that cannot be learned in isolation.

Rather than treating open source as a side activity or philosophical ideal, this presentation reframes it as a concrete career accelerator. Attendees will learn why open source work increasingly replaces traditional signals like whiteboard interviews, how it strengthens architectural judgment, and how consistent contributions can reshape long-term career trajectories.

The session concludes with pragmatic guidance on how to start contributing safely and effectively—especially for engineers who want to make an impact without burning out.

Jakarta Tech Talk: Accelerating a Software Engineer’s Career Through Open Source: Lessons from Jakarta EE