We are all tech leads now

A developer reflects on the shift in software engineering roles as AI coding agents become more capable, arguing that engineers now spend less time writing code by hand and more time reviewing, specifying, and managing agents, making them akin to tech leads. The author suggests that 'coding' may now include pair-programming with an agent and that the role of a software engineer is evolving accordingly.

Are you writing code all day? I don't. I actually haven't written production code by hand in a long time. I mean, from time to time I try to code a feature, but I feel stupid after a bit, when I realize a coding agent can do it much faster than me, and better. Then I start thinking, what's my role? Am I a "coder" anymore? I am a software engineer, that didn't change. I decompose complex tasks into smaller, manageable pieces I can take one at a time, I specify the technical specs of what we have to build, but I am not a coder. Then I start enumerating the tasks I'm actually doing at the moment: Is that being a software engineer? Well, yes, but it's also surprisingly similar to being a tech lead. Years ago I was obsessed about the idea of becoming a tech lead. At that point, I started reading books. I read Camille Fournier's The Manager's Path https://www.amazon.com/Managers-Path-Leaders-Navigating-Growth/dp/1491973897 , and more importantly, Patrick Kua's Talking with Tech Leads https://www.amazon.com/Talking-Tech-Leads-Novices-Practitioners-ebook/dp/B014Q2C4M4 . Both books describe tech leads as software engineers who are technically responsible of a team and that also spend at least 20% of their time writing code. Maybe that's the direction we should follow. At least that's my next attempt. I don't like prompting all day, testing and releasing. I like reading code, I feel like I should be able to say what's good and what's bad, how apps should be architected and what's the long term technical direction. I wasn't sure about that 20% coding time. Then I thought, maybe coding is not writing code by hand anymore. Maybe "coding" is now pair-programming with an agent, working very carefully on a critical piece of code or a RFC? To me, working on VS Code with a Codex or Claude plugin is much different than running 6 Claude sessions in parallel reviewing their output. That has its place, sure, but working in small chunks, and kind of babysitting an agent should also own its place in our day. I don't think anybody knows where this is going, but maybe we are no longer coders, maybe we are all tech leads at this point. And that's good.