1) we have your side of the story. It may be completely accurate. But try to step outside yourself an imagine you were looking at an employee doing what you're

1) we have your side of the story. It may be completely accurate. But try to step outside yourself an imagine you were looking at an employee doing what you're doing. Would the impression of productivity be the same? 2) Have a frank, blunt conversation with your direct manager about precisely what was said by the boss and determine if they agree with the boss's impression. If their impression is the same, you really need a deeper conversation about the specific criticisms. Make sure your explanations do not sound like excuses: preferably it would include a fairly accurate accounting of time spent on each aspect of the project and why it was necessary at the time. Ask for feedback on how you might have done something different. 3) If your direct manager is on your side, do what you can to encourage them to explain things to your boss. That may be difficult because there could be aspects of it that would make your boss look bad-- things that were your fault, not theirs. That could even be why the manager bailed on the meeting. That happened to me once, with the CEO no less. The VP that was supposed to be in the meeting with me was a no-show, and the issue was their responsibility not mine. If the manager didn't deliberately leave you out to dry, they may still be able to mitigate the damage a bit. 4) it's possible the boss just doesn't like you. Personality clash, something else, I don't know. I've seen that: a relative of mine had to fight to keep their job when their manager loved them but the boss higher up had an unreasonable dislike of them and thought they didn't work very hard. Luckily it was a good manager who fought for the relative. 5) if none of the above help and things continue on this path, prepare your resume and actively seek another job before they have a chance to fire you. Especially in tech, it's a shoppers market for people shopping for a new job. If you live near a tech hub or really any metropolitan area then it shouldn't be hard to find another job. You might not like it as much as your current job, but if not then you can bide your time there, learn what you can, do some good work to add to your resume, and then find a more satisfying position somewhere else. Good luck!