Engineering
Engineering Career Ladders
212 people are learning this skill right now!
As engineering organizations grow and add more complexity with team members at different levels of experience, they also need to create clarity: the list of job levels, and what each role does. Done well, a career ladder can limit bias and provide a framework for hiring, paying, and promoting. Note: The articles below are often an introduction to the company's level guide, and the actual career ladder is a PDF or spreadsheet linked to from the article.
What You'll Learn
AI challenge coach
Feeling stuck on Engineering Career Ladders? Try our AI Coach (preview)With Practica's AI career coach, you'll receive personalized guidance based on your unique skills and challenges. Submit a challenge you're facing at work and our AI bot will provide tailored next steps to help you succeed. To ensure the best possible advice, be sure to include details such as your company size, role, and any other relevant information. Don't let career roadblocks slow you down - let Practica's AI coach help you navigate the way forward. Try it now!Intro to Standard Engineering Roles
The first step in understanding what goes in to an engineering career ladder framework is to understand Job Titles and roles.
Software Roles and TitlesThis article shares a great introductory overview to engineering positions. Eric provides general guidelines with the caveat that the details of the roles can vary from company to company. • Engineering Fellow • CEO • CTO • CIO/Chief Digital Officer/Chief Innovation Officer • VP of Engineering/Director of Engineering • Chief Architect • Software Architect • Engineering Manager • Technical Lead/Engineering Lead/Team Lead • Principal Software Engineer • Senior Software Engineer • Software Engineer • Junior Software Engineer • Intern Software Engineer
Common Engineering Career Ladders Challenges
These are common challenges people face when gaining expertise in engineering career ladders. Tackling these challenges head-on can help you learn this skill quicker.
I'm not sure what skills I need to focus on to get to the next levelStruggling with setting clear goals and expectations for myself in order to advance in my career.I could be better at communicating my strengths and areas for improvement to my manager using the terms of our career ladderI'm really unsure how our company career framework applies to my specific roleIt's hard to create a career ladder that recognizes a diverse range of skills and experiencesAdd your own to track your progress and inspire othersIndustry-Standard Expectations for Engineering Career Ladders
These are performance expectations for engineering career ladders at different competency levels. Understanding these expectations can help you measure your own proficiency and orient your growth.
AwareRecognize the importance of engineering career ladders. Eager to learn the basics and apply best practices in the workplace.NoviceUnderstand the purpose and benefits of engineering career ladders. Participate in the career ladder development process by providing feedback and suggestions.IntermediateContribute to the development and refinement of career ladder criteria and expectations. Use career ladders to set goals and identify areas for professional development.AdvancedCoach and mentor junior engineers on how to use career ladders to develop their careers. Provide input and feedback on career ladder assessments for team members.InnovatorLead the development and refinement of career ladders for the engineering organization. Advocate for the use of career ladders to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion within the company.Want to know what proficiency level you’re at?Our AI will ask you how you’ve used this skill in the past and then give you a rating and a personalized learning plan.Building a Career Ladder
This section provides guides to building and launching a career ladder.
Why you need an engineering ladder, and when to build one: Career paths, progression, promotionSmruti explains: • Why both individual performance and team performance can be connected to career progression clarity • What form of engineering ladders are appropriate for organizations of 2, 20, 200, or 2000 engineers
How to create a career ladder for your software engineering teamsIn this 30-minute talk, Marco explains why engineering orgs need a career ladder, three basic frameworks for creating a career ladder, and tips for rolling one out.
An impact-based level system for engineering organizationsElliot suggests defining levels based on the results an employee generates rather than how many people they manage or how many lines of code they write. He describes a system built around the following six levels of impact: • Level 1 — Scoped Tasks • Level 2 — Scoped Projects • Level 3 — Unscoped Projects • Level 4 — Team Force Multiplier • Level 5 — Group Force Multiplier • Level 6 — Company Force Multiplier
Engineering Career Ladders From Leading Companies
Leading companies have established career ladders for their engineers. These ladders typically include multiple levels of advancement, with specific requirements and responsibilities for each level. Companies may also offer Mentorship and training programs to support career growth.
Sharing Our Engineering LadderThis is Rent the Runway's career ladder, one of the first to be publicly released. It groups skills into: Technical Skills, Getting Stuff Done, Impact, and Communication & Leadership.
Building an Engineering Ladder at GlossierGlosser's ladder provides example skills and behaviors across categories for Knowledge, Communications, Execution / Delivering Goals, and Discretion / Supervision.
Square’s Growth Framework for Engineers and Engineering ManagersSquare goes from L3 to L9 for individual contributors, and L5 to L9 for engineering managers (people managers). IC skill categories include Technical Execution, Ownership, Collaboration, and Team Building.
Patreon Engineering LevelsThe Patreon team outlines common expectations and examples of an engineer’s skills and responsibilities at each level.
Engineering Career Development at EtsyThe Etsy team shares their engineering ladder and why they built it, why the content is what it is, and how it’s been put into use since its release.
Kickstarter's Engineering & Data Science Career LaddersKickstarter's approach has fewer levels and uses textual descriptions rather than a matrix of skills.
Spotify Technology Career StepsSpotify technically has a matrix of skills across levels, but takes a different approach to what each level is, which they call "Steps": Individual, Chapter & Squad, Tribe & Guild, Company.
Engineering Growth Tracks at MediumMedium has since run into issues with this version of their leveling guides, and is no longer using this vision.
Leveling Up as an Engineer
Leveling up as an engineer requires continuous Learning And Development. This can include pursuing advanced degrees, attending Conferences, and participating in training programs. It also involves taking on new challenges and responsibilities.
Useful Things-to-know-about-engineering-levelsCharity addresses a common frustration of junior engineers around how quickly they are able to level up to more senior positions.
Common Engineering Career Ladders Wins
Here are common milestones and achievements that people reach when learning engineering career ladders. You can use them as inspiration to reach your own goals.
Created a clear and comprehensive engineering career ladder for the team that's at the right level of detailA higher level of transparency has improved morale and reduced turnover on the eng teamThe career ladder helps me communicate my strengths and areas for improvement to my managerI got great feedback on my contributions to the career framework effortI used our career ladder to create actionable growth plans for my team membersAdd your own to track your progress and inspire others
What You'll Learn