Engineering hiring forecast: 2-3 engineers every 6 months, Linux Security next, Bay Area preference

Situation

Peter committed to a 12-month engineering hiring cadence of 2-3 net new engineers every 6 months. Next 6 months: Linux Security Engineer (target hire 4-6 months out), plus potentially one more for Nathans team contingent on bug volume. Hiring location preference: Bay Area. Mariah updates the shared headcount/salary forecast spreadsheet to reflect this for Bjorn.

Reasoning

The 2-3/6mo cadence is a deliberate brake — explicitly saying engineering will NOT grow faster than this. Protects existing team coherence (60-person org), keeps onboarding load survivable, and prevents headcount-growth-without-accountability anti-pattern. Linux Security as the next priority continues the cloud-security/STIG/FIPS gap from 5/21 + 5/26 decisions — same capability hole the org keeps surfacing. Bay Area preference signals an in-person/density bet — concentration over best-talent-anywhere remote, likely tied to engineering culture, faster decision loops, and lab/hardware presence. The Nathan-team contingent role is gated by bug volume — confidence-as-contract logic applied to hiring (only when workload demonstrates need).

Additional Context

Forced by Recruitment Forecasting Discussion + Mariahs need to update shared spreadsheet for H2 planning. Sets a recurring cadence-commit pattern that did not exist before — previously hires were ad-hoc, now they have a rhythm.

Observed Evidence

Direct meeting takeaways and action items. Peter explicitly stated cadence, role priority, and location preference. Mariah action item to update spreadsheet confirms the forecast is going into HR planning artifacts.

Matching Patterns

Confidence Breakdown

Reasoning Depth Analysis