Go SME Onboarding Checklist (30/60/90)

Structured ramp for mid/senior hires new to Go.

Use this checklist with a buddy reviewer to turn "learn Go" into dated, verifiable outcomes tied to your repository and CI.

How to Use This Checklist

Copy items into your HR or engineering onboarding ticket; assign an owner and due date per row.
Mark N/A with a one-line reason (for example, hire already owns on-call from prior role).
Verify each item with evidence: merged PR link, CI run URL, or pairing session notes.
Revisit at 30, 60, and 90 days in a 30-minute calibration meeting with the hire and mentor.

Days 1-30 - Toolchain, repo, and first merge

Go version matches CI: Local go version equals the image or go-version in workflows.
- Verify: Screenshot or paste in onboarding doc
Module downloads clean: go mod download and go test ./... pass on laptop.
- Verify: Terminal output saved or linked CI reproduction
Secrets and access: Git, cloud staging, observability dashboards, and pager access (if applicable).
- Verify: Access checklist signed by manager
Read team standards: Coding standards, ADR index, and Team Onboarding Basics completed.
- Verify: Quiz or short written summary in ticket
gofmt and vet habit: Pre-push gofmt -l empty and go vet ./... green.
- Verify: Included in first PR description
golangci-lint parity: Local lint matches CI or documented exceptions.
- Verify: golangci-lint run output attached once
Layout map: Can draw cmd/, internal/, and top three packages without a cheat sheet.
- Verify: Whiteboard photo or markdown diagram in wiki
First merged PR: Docs, test, or small bugfix through normal review.
- Verify: PR link; note review rounds
Effective Go spine started: First three blocks from Effective Go Reading Path done with notes.
- Verify: Reading notes or comments in ticket
Pairing session completed: At least one structured session per Pairing & Mob Sessions.
- Verify: Agenda + attendee list
Error handling drill: Explain when your codebase wraps with %w vs %v on one real function.
- Verify: Verbal or written explanation reviewed by buddy
godoc pass: Ran go doc on two packages hire will touch; filed godoc gap if found.
- Verify: Issue or PR link

Days 31-60 - Idioms, tests, and feature slice

Table-driven test contributed: Added or extended subtests in a production package.
- Verify: Merged PR link
Race detector used: go test -race ./... run on packages hire modified; failures fixed or filed.
- Verify: CI job link with -race enabled
Context propagation: Traced context.Context through one handler or RPC; no stored contexts in structs.
- Verify: Comment in design doc or PR description
Interface at consumer: Identified one interface defined by caller, not producer, in codebase.
- Verify: Code pointer in onboarding notes
Concurrency review: Participated in review touching goroutines, channels, or errgroup.
- Verify: Review comment link
Feature slice owned: Delivered a small user-visible or API change end-to-end with tests.
- Verify: Merged PR + deploy or feature flag note
Observability touch: Added or fixed one metric, log field, or trace attribute per team norms.
- Verify: Dashboard screenshot or PR diff
Second buddy rotation: Paired with a different reviewer than month one.
- Verify: Session notes
Review culture read: Code Review Culture for Go with one exemplar PR studied.
- Verify: Hire comments on what they would change in exemplar
Module hygiene: Ran go mod tidy; understands MVS and internal proxy if used.
- Verify: Clean go mod tidy diff or "no change" note

Days 61-90 - Design, on-call, and teaching back

Design input: Commented on a design doc or RFC with Go-specific trade-offs (performance, API shape, errors).
- Verify: Doc comment link
On-call shadow: Completed shadow shift or incident tabletop for Go services.
- Verify: Shadow log signed by on-call lead
pprof or trace: Used pprof or execution trace on a staging issue or load test.
- Verify: Brief postmortem note or pairing recording
Leveling self-assessment: Compared skills to Leveling Guide; gaps discussed with manager.
- Verify: 1:1 notes
Teach one idiom: Led 15-minute brown bag or doc PR explaining one team pattern (errors, testing, layout).
- Verify: Recording or merged doc link
Agent skill awareness: If team uses agent skills, ran one skill-guided review locally.
- Verify: Skill output pasted with human edits noted
Dependency PR: Reviewed or authored a go get change with CVE or license check.
- Verify: PR link with govulncheck or policy note
90-day retro: Hire and mentor agree: ready for default queue, extended ramp, or role adjustment.
- Verify: Signed retro in ticket

Applying the Checklist in Order

Days 1-30 (1-12): Reversible mistakes; optimize for CI green and review trust.
Days 31-60 (13-22): Higher blast radius; require tests and pairing before solo concurrency edits.
Days 61-90 (23-30): Production judgment; shadow on-call before solo pages.

Staff hires may compress 1-12 but should not skip 13-18 unless they demonstrate equivalent merged work elsewhere.

FAQs

Can we shorten the 90-day plan for strong Rust or Java hires?

Compress reading and syntax drills, not review culture or -race habits. Keep items 8, 13, 14, and 24 as non-negotiable evidence.

What if CI cannot run locally due to cloud-only deps?

Document the gap in item 2 as N/A with a link to ephemeral environment workflow. Require a green pipeline run on the hire's branch instead.

Should contractors use the same checklist?

Yes, but end at item 30 with explicit handoff artifacts: runbooks updated, pairing recordings, and open PRs listed.

How do managers use failed items?

Failed items become the next sprint's learning goals, not punitive marks. Pair extra sessions on failed rows before expanding scope.

Does this replace HR onboarding?

No. This checklist covers engineering outcomes only. HR tasks sit in parallel tracks.

What evidence counts for "read standards"?

A short summary naming three rules the hire will apply, or answers to three quiz questions maintained by the team.

When should item 24 on-call shadow happen?

After item 18 feature slice merges and item 14 race runs are green - usually between days 45 and 75.

How often should the checklist itself be updated?

Quarterly or after a Go toolchain bump, linter set change, or onboarding retro with repeated failures on the same row.

Can hires skip godoc items if they are not library authors?

They still consume go doc daily. Item 12 stays; library-heavy teams add a stricter godoc PR requirement.

What if the hire already knows Go but is new to the company?

Run a 2-week compressed pass: items 3-8, 11, 18, 22, 24, and 30. Focus on team-specific norms, not language basics.

Onboarding Go Specialists - mental model for language transitions
Team Onboarding Basics - runnable first-week examples
Effective Go Reading Path - study order paired with this checklist
Code Review Culture for Go - review bar hires must meet
Leveling Guide: Junior to Staff in Go - long-term expectations

Stack versions: This page was written for Go 1.26.x (Green Tea GC default, go fix modernizers - verify patch at build), chi (latest - verify at build), gin (latest - verify at build), echo (latest - verify at build), google.golang.org/grpc (latest - verify at build), sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime (latest - verify at build), kubebuilder (latest - verify at build), tinygo (latest - verify board targets at build), wazero (latest - verify at build), and golangci-lint (latest - verify linter set at build).

Go SME Onboarding Checklist (30/60/90)

Structured ramp for mid/senior hires new to Go.

Use this checklist with a buddy reviewer to turn "learn Go" into dated, verifiable outcomes tied to your repository and CI.

How to Use This Checklist

Copy items into your HR or engineering onboarding ticket; assign an owner and due date per row.
Mark N/A with a one-line reason (for example, hire already owns on-call from prior role).
Verify each item with evidence: merged PR link, CI run URL, or pairing session notes.
Revisit at 30, 60, and 90 days in a 30-minute calibration meeting with the hire and mentor.

Days 1-30 - Toolchain, repo, and first merge

Go version matches CI: Local go version equals the image or go-version in workflows.
- Verify: Screenshot or paste in onboarding doc
Module downloads clean: go mod download and go test ./... pass on laptop.
- Verify: Terminal output saved or linked CI reproduction
Secrets and access: Git, cloud staging, observability dashboards, and pager access (if applicable).
- Verify: Access checklist signed by manager
Read team standards: Coding standards, ADR index, and Team Onboarding Basics completed.
- Verify: Quiz or short written summary in ticket
gofmt and vet habit: Pre-push gofmt -l empty and go vet ./... green.
- Verify: Included in first PR description
golangci-lint parity: Local lint matches CI or documented exceptions.
- Verify: golangci-lint run output attached once
Layout map: Can draw cmd/, internal/, and top three packages without a cheat sheet.
- Verify: Whiteboard photo or markdown diagram in wiki
First merged PR: Docs, test, or small bugfix through normal review.
- Verify: PR link; note review rounds
Effective Go spine started: First three blocks from Effective Go Reading Path done with notes.
- Verify: Reading notes or comments in ticket
Pairing session completed: At least one structured session per Pairing & Mob Sessions.
- Verify: Agenda + attendee list
Error handling drill: Explain when your codebase wraps with %w vs %v on one real function.
- Verify: Verbal or written explanation reviewed by buddy
godoc pass: Ran go doc on two packages hire will touch; filed godoc gap if found.
- Verify: Issue or PR link

Days 31-60 - Idioms, tests, and feature slice

Table-driven test contributed: Added or extended subtests in a production package.
- Verify: Merged PR link
Race detector used: go test -race ./... run on packages hire modified; failures fixed or filed.
- Verify: CI job link with -race enabled
Context propagation: Traced context.Context through one handler or RPC; no stored contexts in structs.
- Verify: Comment in design doc or PR description
Interface at consumer: Identified one interface defined by caller, not producer, in codebase.
- Verify: Code pointer in onboarding notes
Concurrency review: Participated in review touching goroutines, channels, or errgroup.
- Verify: Review comment link
Feature slice owned: Delivered a small user-visible or API change end-to-end with tests.
- Verify: Merged PR + deploy or feature flag note
Observability touch: Added or fixed one metric, log field, or trace attribute per team norms.
- Verify: Dashboard screenshot or PR diff
Second buddy rotation: Paired with a different reviewer than month one.
- Verify: Session notes
Review culture read: Code Review Culture for Go with one exemplar PR studied.
- Verify: Hire comments on what they would change in exemplar
Module hygiene: Ran go mod tidy; understands MVS and internal proxy if used.
- Verify: Clean go mod tidy diff or "no change" note

Days 61-90 - Design, on-call, and teaching back

Design input: Commented on a design doc or RFC with Go-specific trade-offs (performance, API shape, errors).
- Verify: Doc comment link
On-call shadow: Completed shadow shift or incident tabletop for Go services.
- Verify: Shadow log signed by on-call lead
pprof or trace: Used pprof or execution trace on a staging issue or load test.
- Verify: Brief postmortem note or pairing recording
Leveling self-assessment: Compared skills to Leveling Guide; gaps discussed with manager.
- Verify: 1:1 notes
Teach one idiom: Led 15-minute brown bag or doc PR explaining one team pattern (errors, testing, layout).
- Verify: Recording or merged doc link
Agent skill awareness: If team uses agent skills, ran one skill-guided review locally.
- Verify: Skill output pasted with human edits noted
Dependency PR: Reviewed or authored a go get change with CVE or license check.
- Verify: PR link with govulncheck or policy note
90-day retro: Hire and mentor agree: ready for default queue, extended ramp, or role adjustment.
- Verify: Signed retro in ticket

Applying the Checklist in Order

Days 1-30 (1-12): Reversible mistakes; optimize for CI green and review trust.
Days 31-60 (13-22): Higher blast radius; require tests and pairing before solo concurrency edits.
Days 61-90 (23-30): Production judgment; shadow on-call before solo pages.

Staff hires may compress 1-12 but should not skip 13-18 unless they demonstrate equivalent merged work elsewhere.

FAQs

Can we shorten the 90-day plan for strong Rust or Java hires?

Compress reading and syntax drills, not review culture or -race habits. Keep items 8, 13, 14, and 24 as non-negotiable evidence.

What if CI cannot run locally due to cloud-only deps?

Document the gap in item 2 as N/A with a link to ephemeral environment workflow. Require a green pipeline run on the hire's branch instead.

Should contractors use the same checklist?

Yes, but end at item 30 with explicit handoff artifacts: runbooks updated, pairing recordings, and open PRs listed.

How do managers use failed items?

Failed items become the next sprint's learning goals, not punitive marks. Pair extra sessions on failed rows before expanding scope.

Does this replace HR onboarding?

No. This checklist covers engineering outcomes only. HR tasks sit in parallel tracks.

What evidence counts for "read standards"?

A short summary naming three rules the hire will apply, or answers to three quiz questions maintained by the team.

When should item 24 on-call shadow happen?

After item 18 feature slice merges and item 14 race runs are green - usually between days 45 and 75.

How often should the checklist itself be updated?

Quarterly or after a Go toolchain bump, linter set change, or onboarding retro with repeated failures on the same row.

Can hires skip godoc items if they are not library authors?

They still consume go doc daily. Item 12 stays; library-heavy teams add a stricter godoc PR requirement.

What if the hire already knows Go but is new to the company?

Run a 2-week compressed pass: items 3-8, 11, 18, 22, 24, and 30. Focus on team-specific norms, not language basics.

Onboarding Go Specialists - mental model for language transitions
Team Onboarding Basics - runnable first-week examples
Effective Go Reading Path - study order paired with this checklist
Code Review Culture for Go - review bar hires must meet
Leveling Guide: Junior to Staff in Go - long-term expectations

Stack versions: This page was written for Go 1.26.x (Green Tea GC default, go fix modernizers - verify patch at build), chi (latest - verify at build), gin (latest - verify at build), echo (latest - verify at build), google.golang.org/grpc (latest - verify at build), sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime (latest - verify at build), kubebuilder (latest - verify at build), tinygo (latest - verify board targets at build), wazero (latest - verify at build), and golangci-lint (latest - verify linter set at build).

Go SME Onboarding Checklist (30/60/90)

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Go SME Onboarding Checklist (30/60/90)