The Unheroic Art of Managing Engineers

The Unheroic Art of Managing Engineers is not about charisma, vision, or swooping in with last-minute genius. It's about the real work of managing brilliant, stubborn, system-obsessed engineers-and doing it without losing your mind.
John Huber, PE, PMP, draws on decades of experience in compliance-driven, high-stakes industries to show what engineering management actually looks like on the ground. With dry humor and practical stories, he explains how to:- Hire for technical fit instead of buzzwords.- Balance trust and accountability with people who think in equations.- Handle conflict between principled engineers without an HR babysitter.- Onboard, mentor, and eventually replace yourself.
Unlike generic leadership books, this one doesn't try to turn engineers into corporate citizens. Instead, it accepts what makes them different-their intolerance for fluff, obsession with edge cases, and uncanny ability to spot misaligned incentives faster than HR can schedule a town hall.
The result is a candid, unglamorous guide to keeping technical teams working, engaged, and grounded in reality. You'll learn how to manage performance based on measurable outcomes, steer projects through shifting priorities, and build systems and structures that outlast you.
The measure of success in engineering management isn't whether you're remembered as irreplaceable. It's whether the people and systems you shaped keep running long after you're gone.
For senior engineers considering management, and managers already in the trenches, this book is a practical companion for the unheroic, everyday work that makes engineering organizations succeed.

John Huber is a mechanical engineer with over 38 years of experience, 25 of those in engineering management. He holds Professional Engineering licenses in four states and a Project Management Professional credential from PMI. This is his first non-fiction book.John has led teams in heavy industry, compliance-driven fields, and the kind of projects where technical debt isn't just a metaphor-it's buried under concrete.When he's not writing or managing, he enjoys time with family, writing, playing golf, and building PCs that run quieter than his job sites ever did.He lives in Knoxville with his wife, son, two dogs, and a cat.