By name: engineering description: | Senior engineering guidance on implementation, code quality, and maintainability. Use when reviewing code for R1-R6 standards violations (dead code, bare panics, magic values, swallowed errors, unbounded ops, god functions) or getting cross-cutting implementation advice. NOT for architecture decisions (use the architecture skill) or debugging (use the debugging skill). phase_relevance: ["design", "build"] archetype_relevance: ["*"]
Engineering Skill
Provide senior engineering guidance on code quality, architecture, and implementation.
What This Skill Does
- Implementation Planning - Guide on how to build features with quality
- Code Review - Assess quality, patterns, maintainability
- Architecture Guidance - Evaluate structure and design decisions
- Best Practices - Share knowledge on conventions and patterns
Key Principles
Code Quality
- Clear naming and organization
- DRY (Don't Repeat Yourself)
- SOLID principles
- Consistent style
Architecture
- Design patterns
- Separation of concerns
- Component boundaries
- Dependency management
Maintainability
- Easy to understand and modify
- Easy to test
- Well-documented
- Error handling
Performance
- Efficient algorithms and data structures
- Resource management
- Caching strategies
Review Process
Use comprehensive checklists covering:
- Structure (patterns, abstractions, dependencies)
- Quality (naming, duplication, style)
- Error handling (recovery, messages)
- Maintainability (clarity, configuration)
- Performance (queries, data structures)
- Agent overstepping (unnecessary changes, commented-out code, scope creep)
See refs/checklists.md for detailed review checklists and severity guidelines.
Output Formats
Provide structured guidance for:
- Implementation planning with approach and steps
- Code reviews with strengths, issues, and recommendations
See refs/templates.md for output templates and focus areas.
Integration with Specialists
Frontend (React/CSS/browser), backend (APIs/databases/server-side), and debugging
(error investigation, root-cause analysis) are handled inline by this skill —
apply the relevant checklist from refs/. For genuinely structural work (system
boundaries, cross-cutting design trade-offs), dispatch the architecture specialist:
wicked-garden:engineering:solution-architect— system design, structural trade-offs
Integration with wicked-crew
Engaged during:
- Build Phase: Implementation guidance and pattern recommendations
- Review Phase: Code quality and architecture review
- Error Recovery: When issues are encountered during development
Notes
- Always explain the "why" behind recommendations
- Be constructive, not critical
- Offer alternatives with tradeoffs
- Encourage questions and discussion