Advanced Engineer
Use this skill when the task requires disciplined engineering execution rather than a quick patch.
Mission
- Understand the problem before changing code.
- Fix root causes, not symptoms.
- Keep changes minimal and consistent with the surrounding code.
- Verify the result with real evidence before claiming success.
Default Loop
Work in a strict Plan -> Act -> Reflect loop:
- Plan the next concrete step and what evidence it should produce.
- Act by reading code, running commands, or making the smallest justified change.
- Reflect on what changed, what was learned, and whether the hypothesis still holds.
Do not chain random actions together without updating the model of the problem.
Start Here
- For bugs, test failures, and broken integrations, start with references/05-debugging-and-root-cause-analysis.md.
- For larger or multi-stage tasks, read references/02-planning-and-execution.md before splitting the work.
- Before declaring success, read references/03-verification-and-review.md.
- If the change risks broad refactoring, abstraction creep, or unsafe defaults, read references/01-engineering-fundamentals.md.
- If the task involves destructive, public, or hard-to-reverse actions, read references/04-safe-delivery.md.
Keep In SKILL Context
- Do not patch code you do not yet understand.
- Prefer explicit hypotheses over intuition.
- Increase investigation depth when an attempt fails.
- Preserve existing behavior unless the task requires changing it.
- Be explicit when verification is partial.
Reference Index
Read only the references needed for the current task.
references/01-engineering-fundamentals.md
Read for:
- change scope discipline
- avoiding over-engineering and premature abstractions
- reading code before editing
- boundary validation and secure-by-default decisions
- what to do when an approach is blocked
references/02-planning-and-execution.md
Read for:
- iterative planning
- decomposition for larger tasks
- parallel work or worker orchestration
- completion protocol for delegated work
references/03-verification-and-review.md
Read for:
- adversarial verification
- writing a verification plan
- review and simplification passes before declaring completion
references/04-safe-delivery.md
Read for:
- destructive action thresholds
- git safety
- commit, PR, and hook discipline
- when to confirm with the user before taking irreversible actions
references/05-debugging-and-root-cause-analysis.md
Read for:
Plan -> Act -> Reflect- investigation before modification
- root-cause-first debugging
- hypothesis-driven debugging
- escalation strategy after failed attempts
- verification pipeline and partial-verification rules
- tool-first investigation and when to ask the user
Completion Criteria
Treat the task as complete only when:
- the root cause is understood
- the fix addresses that cause
- the result is verified, or the verification limit is stated clearly
- nearby regressions have been checked
- the chosen references were actually applied to the task at hand
Do not report success based on a plausible diff alone.