Welcome Aboard: A Python Onboarding Checklist

You’ve hired great Python talent, but getting them fully up to speed doesn’t happen automatically. A strong onboarding process can be the difference between fast integration and early turnover.

This checklist is for founders, hiring managers, and recruiters who want to design onboarding programs that create lasting results. It’s a practical guide for Python engineering teams, covering a 30-60-90 day plan, from tech setup and mentorship to progress tracking.

Follow it, and your new hires will get productive faster, feel supported, and clearly understand what’s expected, so your team can hit the ground running and retention stays high.

30-60-90 Day Plan

This roadmap helps new hires settle in, learn the ropes, and start making an impact over their first three months.

• Days 0–30: Orientation & Environment Setup

The first month is about helping your new hire feel oriented and ready to contribute. They’ll complete their tech setup, review the engineering handbook, and pair with an onboarding mentor to understand team workflows. Reading core service architecture documentation gives context for the codebase. Tackling a first bug or low-risk task and 1:1s with the Engineering Manager, Product Manager, and tech lead help them build relationships and clarify expectations.

• Days 31–60: First Project & Code Review Integration

The second month shifts focus to hands-on contribution. The new hire works on a scoped internal project, participates in team stand-ups, and joins code reviews as both reviewer and reviewee to understand standards and feedback culture. Learning the CI/CD process, deployment steps, and release cadence while writing unit and integration tests helps them integrate into your workflow. A structured mid-point check-in ensures they’re on track and supported.

• Days 61–90: Full Ownership & Performance Review

By the final month, the goal is full ownership of a feature or integration. They participate in sprint planning and retrospectives, provide code reviews for peers, and document their work with postmortems or internal blogs reflecting on their onboarding experience. The 90-day performance review evaluates readiness for promotion and identifies growth opportunities, reinforcing their integration into the team.

Setup Checklists

Getting tools and access ready isn’t just logistics. It’s about helping new hires feel equipped and welcome from day one.

• Hardware & Software

Make sure your new hire has:

• Laptop and accessories

• VPN & security tokens

• IDE and code formatting tools (e.g. Black, Flake8)

• Python version manager (pyenv/virtualenv)

• Docker & container support

• Access to monitoring/logging dashboards

This preparation reduces friction and lets them focus on learning the codebase.

• Access & Permissions

Grant access to essential systems:

• GitHub/GitLab

• Slack/Teams

• Project management tools (Linear, Jira, Notion)

• Deployment credentials

• Analytics/Data dashboards

Having these ready ensures your new hire can get up to speed without delays.

Mentorship Framework

Mentorship helps new hires feel supported, understand context quickly, and gain confidence in their role.

• Mentor Assignment

Assign a mentor from the same team or domain who meets with their mentee at least twice a week. Mentors provide guidance, unblock issues, and review pull requests, helping new hires navigate the codebase and team culture.

• Mentor Tools

Mentors can use shared weekly goals in Notion or an internal wiki, maintain a feedback document, and track engagement with a simple checklist. This structure ensures the onboarding experience is consistent and measurable.

• Escalation Path

If challenges arise that a mentor can’t resolve, a clear escalation path (e.g., Team Lead → Engineering Manager → HR) keeps accountability clear and prevents delays in the new hire’s progress.

Progress Tracking Tools

Tracking progress helps new hires integrate smoothly and gives teams visibility into milestones.

• Templates Included

Standardised templates make monitoring progress easier. These can include an onboarding tracker (spreadsheet or Notion page), a daily log, weekly check-in questions, a mentor feedback form, and a 90-day review template.

• Metrics to Track

Monitor indicators like time to first commit, time to first deployed feature, number of PRs reviewed, and onboarding satisfaction score. This helps ensure your onboarding program is effective and identifies areas for improvement.

Code Review & First Project Guidelines

Clear expectations help new hires contribute confidently while learning team standards.

• Code Review

All code reviews should be completed within 24 hours. New hires should aim to review at least three PRs by Day 45. Emphasise code style, readability, and test coverage to reinforce best practices.

• First Project Criteria

The first project should be self-contained, have a low blast radius, and avoid production-critical systems. It should include testing, documentation, and a team demo, and ideally allow them to apply async or other key Python features.

Outcome Goals

Defining clear outcomes helps both the new hire and the team know what success looks like by the end of onboarding.

By Day 90, every Python engineer should be contributing independently, understand team workflows and the stack, participate actively in code reviews, and feel confident asking questions or proposing improvements. Following this checklist ensures faster ramp-up, smoother integration, and stronger engagement with your Python engineering team.

Looking to improve your onboarding checklist? 

If you’d like tailored advice or want to learn more about attracting the right candidates, reach out to Joshua Smith, he’ll be happy to help.