Engineering Team Meeting Cost per Hour

What Does an Engineering Meeting Cost per Hour?

Engineering teams are among the highest-paid groups in most organizations. When they meet, the per-hour cost is significant.

Typical Fully Loaded Rates

Fully loaded cost includes salary, benefits, payroll taxes, equipment, office space, and management overhead:

Junior Engineer:    $55-75/hr fully loaded
Mid-level Engineer: $75-110/hr fully loaded
Senior Engineer:    $110-160/hr fully loaded
Staff/Principal:    $150-220/hr fully loaded
Engineering Manager: $120-180/hr fully loaded

Example: Typical Sprint Team Meeting

A team of 8 (1 EM, 2 seniors, 3 mid-level, 2 juniors):

1 EM at $150/hr          = $150
2 Seniors at $130/hr     = $260
3 Mid-level at $90/hr    = $270
2 Juniors at $65/hr      = $130
---
Total per hour:           = $810

A 1-hour meeting with this team costs $810. A 30-minute standup costs $405.

Opportunity Cost

The cost above only covers direct compensation. The real cost is higher because:

1. Context switching -- Engineers need 15-25 minutes to get back into a flow state after a meeting.
2. Fragmented schedules -- A 1-hour meeting in the middle of the morning can destroy a 4-hour block of deep work.
3. Maker's schedule -- Paul Graham's essay on "Maker's Schedule, Manager's Schedule" explains why meetings are disproportionately costly for engineers compared to managers.

Reducing Engineering Meeting Costs

• Batch meetings together (e.g., all meetings on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons).
• Default to 25 minutes instead of 30, or 50 minutes instead of 60.
• Require an agenda -- meetings without agendas cost more because they run longer.
• Consider async alternatives -- code reviews, RFC documents, and Loom videos can replace many meetings.