Career Framework

A practical framework for engineering growth. Clear expectations, real signals of impact, and no moving goalposts.

Jump to level

How to use this

Pick your current level and the next one above it.

Read for gaps

Compare expected impact with your recent work, not just activity.

Use in 1:1s

Turn gaps into clear goals and evidence for progression conversations.

Framework shape

Two Paths

Engineering growth is not one ladder. The Individual Contributor path is about technical depth, execution, and influence through craft. The People Manager path is about multiplying outcomes through people, structure, and clarity. Different shape, equal seniority.

Individual Contributor

SE1
SE2
SE3
SE4
SE5
SE6

Impact grows through technical depth, execution quality, and broader architectural influence.

People Manager

EM
Sr EM

Impact grows through multiplying effectiveness, developing leaders, and organizational health.

Tech Lead On-ramp: After SE4, engineers can trial the manager track with a TL role before making a full commitment. It's a two-way door.

Individual contributor

Individual Contributor Track

Six levels from early career to company-wide technical leadership. SE3 is a valid long-term destination, not a waiting room. Growth past that point should be intentional, not automatic.

SE1

Software Engineer I

Typical progression: 12 to 24 months

Building strong engineering fundamentals and confidence with close team support.

Expected impact

  • Delivers scoped work with guidance and steady follow-through.
  • Learns team standards, tooling, and delivery rhythm.
  • Improves quality through tests and code review feedback.

Day-to-day scope

  • Implements focused features and bug fixes.
  • Joins code reviews and asks clear, clarifying questions.
  • Documents decisions and applies post-release learnings.

SE2

Software Engineer II

Typical progression: 18 to 30 months

Owning end-to-end feature delivery and making sound day-to-day technical trade-offs.

Expected impact

  • Ships independently from planning through follow-up.
  • Spots risks early and reduces avoidable incidents.
  • Shares context clearly with product and engineering partners.

Day-to-day scope

  • Designs and delivers medium-sized features.
  • Improves tests, observability, and maintainability.
  • Supports incident response and contributes to retros.

SE3

Senior Software Engineer

Progression beyond this level is optional

A trusted senior engineer who delivers high-value outcomes and raises team standards.

SE3 is a valid long-term destination, not a waiting room.

Expected impact

  • Owns ambiguous work and turns it into clear outcomes.
  • Improves architecture and execution quality across the team.
  • Mentors others through strong feedback and collaboration.

Day-to-day scope

  • Leads initiatives spanning multiple services or domains.
  • Guides technical trade-offs with explicit reasoning.
  • Helps shape sprint plans and technical priorities.

SE4

Staff Engineer

Typical progression: 24+ months, varied profile

Operating across teams and increasing leverage through systems thinking, influence, and strategic execution.

Expected impact

  • Sets technical direction that improves speed and reliability.
  • Aligns teams on architecture and reduces cross-team friction.
  • Creates durable patterns others can reuse with minimal support.

Day-to-day scope

  • Leads architecture for cross-team initiatives.
  • Runs technical discovery and de-risks major bets.
  • Coaches senior engineers on influence and design quality.

SE5

Principal Engineer

Progression is selective and business-dependent

Drives company-level technical outcomes through long-range strategy, execution systems, and strong leadership.

Expected impact

  • Shapes multi-year technical direction for critical areas.
  • Raises engineering effectiveness at organizational scale.
  • Partners deeply with leadership on strategic trade-offs.

Day-to-day scope

  • Defines technical strategy across multiple teams.
  • Sponsors major architecture and migration decisions.
  • Builds mechanisms for consistency and operational excellence.

SE6

Distinguished Engineer

A technical leader with sustained organization-wide impact and industry-level credibility.

Expected impact

  • Influences executive decisions with technical clarity.
  • Builds and protects long-term engineering capability.
  • Represents engineering strategy internally and externally.

Day-to-day scope

  • Guides transformative programs spanning the company.
  • Mentors principal and staff communities at scale.
  • Establishes high-leverage standards for architecture and quality.

People manager

People Manager Track

Two levels covering team and multi-team leadership. The measure of success shifts from your personal output to the output, growth, and health of the teams you lead.

EM

Engineering Manager

Typical progression: 24 to 36 months

Leading a team through delivery, growth, and healthy engineering culture.

Expected impact

  • Builds a strong team environment with clear expectations.
  • Improves delivery predictability without sacrificing quality.
  • Develops engineers through coaching and consistent feedback.

Day-to-day scope

  • Runs planning, prioritization, and team cadence.
  • Partners with product and design to align outcomes.
  • Handles hiring, performance, and development plans.

Sr EM

Senior Engineering Manager

Leading multiple teams through managers or senior leads with a focus on organizational leverage.

Expected impact

  • Raises performance across teams through strong systems and leadership.
  • Builds leadership bench strength and succession plans.
  • Drives strategic execution across cross-functional initiatives.

Day-to-day scope

  • Coordinates execution across teams and organizational boundaries.
  • Coaches managers and senior individual contributors.
  • Owns headcount planning and operating rhythms for larger groups.

Operating principles

What Makes This Work

A framework only works when teams use it in real conversations. These principles keep it grounded, fair, and useful.

Honest timelines

"When you are ready" is too vague to be useful. Clear signals and realistic timing create better conversations and better planning.

SE3 is a destination

Not everyone should aim for the same endpoint. Treating SE3 as a respected destination removes performative progression and supports durable careers.

Different shapes are valid

Senior engineers do not all look the same. A strong framework recognizes multiple high-impact profiles, not one preferred archetype.

Used in both directions

Engineers use it to navigate growth. Managers use it to make calibrated, evidence-based decisions. The value is shared accountability.

Want help implementing this with your team?

I help engineering leaders turn frameworks like this into practical operating systems for 1:1s, performance cycles, and promotion calibration.

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