So, you find yourself as a highly technical person working with marketers in the marketing department? Here are some tips to make your life easier—especially if you’re managing a team.

By focusing on these strategies, you’ll not only survive as an engineer in a marketing department but thrive as a leader who bridges the gap between two very different worlds.

1. Redefine what it means to deliver a project

What does “shipping” a project mean? For many engineers, it might mean the code is live, QA tests have passed, and the changes are in production. But in the marketing world, this definition doesn’t hold up. Here, shipping is a much broader concept ¹.

A project is only truly “shipped” when all key stakeholders agree it is done. This means:

1. The solution is actively being used by its intended end users (internal or external)
2. It’s properly announced, communicated, or integrated into existing workflows (think Slack updates, email memos, or presentations)
3. The delivered outcome aligns with stakeholder expectations

If any of these pieces are missing, then all you’ve done is deploy some code—not ship a project. This difference is crucial to understand in marketing-driven teams.

2. Master Internal PR

Highlight team visibility & translate efforts into business outcomes.

Engineers are often excellent at solving problems but not as great at showcasing their work—especially to non-technical colleagues. In marketing, this won’t fly. Your team needs visibility, and you must frame their achievements in a way that resonates with business goals.

Here’s how:

• Regular updates: share progress, wins, and milestones during team syncs or department meetings. Avoid long lists of sprint tasks; focus instead on the high-level business impact
• Streamlined reporting: instead of presenting detailed task lists, categorize work into digestible streams such as:
  • New features
  • KTLO (Keep the Lights On)
  • Technical debt
  • Major improvements
  • Bug fixes
• Engineer visibility: Encourage direct communication between engineers and stakeholders. Include your team in project kick-offs and discussions. When stakeholders recognize their names and faces, it builds trust.

This breakdown offers a clear view of how work is distributed and highlights the value your team delivers.

3. Focus on the values that matter most to the business

Let’s face it - businesses don’t care how beautifully structured your code is or how sophisticated your abstractions are. They care about meeting deadlines, driving revenue, and delivering value.

While clean code and technical excellence are important, they’re not the primary focus for marketing. If the business prioritizes product adoption, your team’s efforts should align with that. For example:

• Contributing to a 0.01% increase in conversion rates will get you more recognition than rewriting an entire codebase.
• Implementing features that directly impact revenue streams or customer retention will always be more valuable than purely technical improvements.

It’s not always easy to accept, but aligning your work with business goals is critical for success in marketing. Unlike engineering teams in an engineering department, where the focus often revolves around technical excellence, innovative solutions, and long-term system improvements, working in marketing demands a different mindset. Here, the priority isn’t just clean code or elegant design—it’s delivering measurable business outcomes, meeting deadlines, and supporting initiatives that directly impact revenue or customer engagement. While technical quality is still important, it becomes secondary to driving immediate value for the business and its goals.

4. Connect your contributions to revenue

Demonstrating the connection between your work and the company’s revenue isn’t straightforward, but it’s essential. Start by understanding what drives revenue in your organization and how your contributions influence it.

Here are three universal strategies:

1. Performance optimization: Faster, more stable applications lead to higher conversion rates and improved user satisfaction. Regularly monitor load speed, downtime, and user experience metrics to quantify the impact of performance improvements on revenue.
2. Feature adoption: Measure how users engage with new features, whether they’re external customers or internal teams. Adoption metrics provide clear evidence of value—and help you refine or sunset features as needed.
3. Critical bug fixes: While avoiding bugs altogether is ideal, resolving critical issues can save significant revenue. Bugs on integration layers, for example, can cause massive failures. Fixing these issues not only prevents downtime but also reduces customer churn.

5. Communication – play the game a little bit

Synergy across verticals, delivering bespoke solutions, fostering innovation… Marketing loves these buzzwords, and sometimes it’s just easier to play along. Fixing a critical bug doesn’t sound as exciting as “a game-changing, customer-centric solution to enhance user experience.”

The reality is, you need to frame your team’s achievements in a way that resonates with marketing folks. This doesn’t mean you’re being dishonest; it’s about presenting your work in a language they understand and appreciate.

These days, you don’t even have to come up with the fancy phrasing on your own. Modern AI tools or chatbots can quickly convert your technical updates into something that fits the marketing vibe. Just give it a try—your “bug fix” might turn into “a seamless enhancement driving exceptional user engagement.”

It might feel awkward at first, but trust me, aligning your communication style with your audience is a game worth playing. After all, you’re in marketing territory now.

6. Build trust within your Team

Trust is the foundation of any successful team, and building it takes consistent effort and intentional actions. As a leader, you’ll inevitably face decisions that your team might not agree with. In these moments, transparency becomes your greatest tool. By clearly explaining the context and rationale behind your decisions, you allow your team to see the bigger picture. Even if they don’t fully agree, understanding the “why” behind a choice can transform disagreement into a more collaborative discussion.

Mistakes are inevitable, but how you handle them sets the tone for the entire team. Owning up to errors, whether they’re your own or collective missteps, demonstrates accountability and creates an environment where everyone feels comfortable being honest. Admitting when things don’t go as planned can strengthen your credibility and build deeper trust.

Sometimes, even after discussions and explanations, a team might still disagree. In those cases, the “disagree and commit” approach can be a powerful tool. By addressing concerns openly but committing to a shared decision, you ensure alignment while acknowledging differing viewpoints.

Trust isn’t just about making the right decisions; it’s about how you navigate the tough ones. If you can consistently communicate with honesty, involve the team in discussions, and show that their input matters—even when the final call is challenging—you’ll foster a culture of respect and collaboration. Some decisions may sound strange at first, but with clear reasoning and open communication, you can guide your team to see their value and necessity.