Engineering Director suddenly scheduled a 1:1 with me

I’m a contractor working as a PM. My reporting structure is:
Me (PM) → Senior PM → Product Director

The Engineering Director oversees the engineering side of the same group of products, but I don’t report to him.

I’ve never had a 1:1 with the Engineering Director before. Today, he unexpectedly scheduled a 1:1 with me for tomorrow(Friday).

What has me concerned is that earlier today I overheard him talking about hiring. He was discussing actively interviewing developers, but at one point I heard him mention hiring/interviewing a PM as well. I don’t know whether he actually meant PM or whether it was just a slip of the tongue.
I’m also the least experienced PM on the team, so my mind immediately went to the possibility that they’re bringing in someone else and ending my contract.

On the other hand:
I’ve received no negative performance feedback from my manager.

I haven’t been put on any kind of performance plan or given a warning.

None of my responsibilities have been taken away.

The Engineering Director actually assigned me a new piece of work in a public team channel today.

As far as I know, my Senior PM/Product Director haven’t indicated that anything is wrong.

Since I’m a contractor, I realize they wouldn’t necessarily need the same HR/termination process they would for a full-time employee. The client could simply decide to end my assignment.

For people who are managers/directors or have worked as contractors: does a first-time 1:1 like this commonly happen before ending someone’s contract? And would an Engineering Director typically be the person to have that conversation with a PM who reports through Product?

Posted Aug 14, 2026, 5:49 AM UTC

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