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Understanding Software Engineer Levels

Purpose​

This guide was created to address four critical needs:

  • I need to understand the different SDE levels: Learn the progression from Junior to Principal Engineer and what distinguishes each level
  • I need to know the roles and responsibilities of each level: Get a clear breakdown of expectations and scope for each engineering level
  • I need to understand the competency requirements: See detailed skill expectations and how they differ across levels
  • I need to plan my career progression: Understand the timeline and requirements for advancing between levels

The goal is to transform confusion about engineering levels into clarity through structured competency mapping and interactive skill visualization.

Why This Content Matters​

Understanding these engineering levels helps in several ways:

  • Career Planning: Engineers can identify areas for growth and set realistic goals
  • Hiring: Managers can better assess candidates and set appropriate expectations
  • Team Building: Teams can understand complementary skills and knowledge gaps
  • Performance Reviews: Clear criteria for evaluation and promotion decisions

The progression from L4 to L7 represents not just increased technical skill, but also growing responsibility for business impact, team development, and organizational influence.

Engineer Levels Overview​

Junior Engineers (L4)​

Typical Experience: 0-2 years

  • New graduates or engineers with limited professional experience
  • Learning fundamental software development practices
  • Working under close supervision and guidance

Engineers (L5)​

Typical Experience: 2-5 years

  • Mid-level engineers with solid technical foundation
  • Capable of working independently on well-defined problems
  • Beginning to mentor junior engineers

Senior Engineers (L6)​

Typical Experience: 5-8 years

  • Experienced engineers who can handle complex technical challenges
  • Strong technical leadership and mentoring capabilities
  • Significant impact on team and product direction

Principal Engineers (L7)​

Typical Experience: 8+ years

  • Technical leaders with deep expertise and broad impact
  • Driving architectural decisions and technical strategy
  • Mentoring multiple teams and influencing organizational direction

Experience Progression by Level​

Understanding how experience typically maps to skill development:

LevelExperience RangeKey Focus AreasTypical Responsibilities
L4 (Junior)0-2 yearsLearning fundamentals, following established patternsImplement features under guidance, learn best practices
L5 (Engineer)2-5 yearsIndependent problem-solving, technical depthOwn feature development, mentor juniors, improve processes
L6 (Senior)5-8 yearsTechnical leadership, system designLead technical initiatives, drive architecture decisions
L7 (Principal)8+ yearsStrategic technical vision, organizational impactDefine technical strategy, influence multiple teams

SDE Expectations​

ThemesSkillsJunior Engineer (L4)Engineer (L5)Senior Engineer (L6)Principle Engineer (L7)
Problem Solving SkillsProblem Solving & ScopeSolves coding problems within existing features.Solves complex technical problems across multiple components.Solves business problems by designing technical solutions.Solves organizational problems by defining business strategy.
Problem Solving SkillsAmbiguityHandles unclear requirements within assigned features.Resolves ambiguity in technical design and implementation.Clarifies ambiguous business requirements and technical approaches.defines and resolves ambiguous business problems and strategic direction.
Problem Solving SkillsComplexitySolves straightforward coding and implementation problems.Solves complex technical problems across multiple systems.Solves complex architecture and business problems.Solves significantly complex organizational and strategic problems.
Technical CompetenciesDeeply UnderstandsHas solid programming fundamentals.Understands team's systems and architecture.Has deep expertise in team's technology stack.Has broad expertise across multiple systems and technologies.
Technical CompetenciesCodebaseWorks on small to medium features and components.Works on large components and entire applications.Works on team-wide architecture and system design.Works on company-wide architecture and strategic initiatives.
ProducesWhat They DeliverWorking code that implements features.technical designs and system architectures.Team standards, best practices, and reusable patterns.Business problem definitions and strategic direction.
ProducesDelivery ContributionsAdds features to existing systems.Builds major parts of products and services.Improves system architecture and removes technical debt.Leads complex projects that transform the organization.
ProducesProcess ContributionsImproves monitoring and operational metrics.Automates team processes and workflows.Streamlines processes across multiple teams.establishes engineering standards for the entire company.
ProducesSolution QualityCode works but may need improvement.Code is clean, tested, and maintainable.Code is modular, flexible, and well-architected.Code sets the standard for excellence across the company.
Professional SkillsAutonomyneeds regular guidance and direction.Works independently with occasional guidance.leads projects and proposes team-wide initiatives.operates independently and drives company-wide initiatives.
Professional SkillsAbilitiesDevelops core programming and problem-solving skills.Builds expertise in specific technologies and domains.Masters complex system design and architecture patterns.Excels at building consensus and decomposing complex problems into straightforward solutions.
Professional SkillsDecisionsMakes implementation decisions within assigned tasks.Makes technical trade-offs for applications and services.Makes trade-offs between short-term needs and long-term goals.Influences strategic priorities and company-wide decisions.
Communication SkillsCustomer Interactionslearns from customer interactions and advocates for user needs.Works directly with customers to understand requirements.Designs customer experiences and product interactions.Owns customer success and business outcomes.
Communication SkillsInfluencesInfluences code and implementation decisions.Influences team and product decisions.Influences organizational and architectural decisions.Influences company strategy and technology direction.
Communication SkillsCollaborates WithCollaborates with teammates on daily tasks.Collaborates across teams on shared projects.leads cross-team initiatives and coordinates multiple teams.orchestrates company-wide initiatives requiring multiple teams.
Leadership SkillsMindsetFocuses on learning and delivering quality code.Develops ownership mindset and technical leadership skills.Embraces complex challenges and drives technical excellence.Tackles intrinsically hard problems, probes assumptions, and fosters shared understanding across the organization.
Leadership SkillsImpactImpacts individual features and components.Impacts applications and services within the team.Impacts team architecture and yields significant performance, availability, or business value.Impacts organizational systems and how the company operates.
Leadership SkillsAlignment & Consensusaligns with team decisions and follows established direction.builds consensus on technical approaches within the team.Aligns multiple teams around technical vision and architectural decisions.Builds organizational alignment around strategic technical direction and company-wide initiatives.
Force MultiplierForce MultiplierContributes to team productivity through reliable code delivery.Multiplies team impact through technical leadership and knowledge sharing.Amplifies organizational impact through architectural leadership and mentoring.Multiplies company-wide impact through strategic leadership, design reviews, and engineering community engagement.
Force MultiplierMentorsMentors interns and junior developers.mentors peers and helps with career development.mentors SDE I and II engineers and promotes their growth.Mentors senior engineers and develops future leaders.

Example Rubrics for Level Comparisons​

Key Differentiators: SDE I (L4) vs SDE II (L5)​

Skill AreaSDE I (L4)SDE II (L5)
Problem SolvingSolves coding problems within existing featuresSolves complex technical problems across multiple components
IndependenceNeeds regular guidance and directionWorks independently with occasional guidance
Technical ImpactAdds features to existing systemsBuilds major parts of products and services
Code QualityCode works but may need improvementCode is clean, tested, and maintainable
AlignmentAligns with team decisions and follows established directionBuilds consensus on technical approaches within the team
MentoringMentors interns and junior developersMentors peers and helps with career development

Interview Rubric: SDE I → SDE II​

Problem Solving & Ambiguity:

  • SDE I: Can handle unclear requirements within assigned features
  • SDE II: Resolves ambiguity in technical design and implementation
  • Key Question: "Tell me about a time when you had to work on a project with unclear requirements. How did you handle it?"

Technical Leadership:

  • SDE I: Follows established patterns and best practices
  • SDE II: Proposes technical approaches and influences team decisions
  • Key Question: "Describe a time when you influenced a technical decision on your team."

Scope of Work:

  • SDE I: Works on small to medium features and components
  • SDE II: Works on large components and entire applications
  • Key Question: "Tell me about the largest technical project you've owned from start to finish."

Skills​

> Problem Solving & Scope​
  • How does the scope and complexity of problems engineers solve change with experience?
  • What types of problems are appropriate for each experience level?
  • How does problem-solving approach evolve from technical to strategic?
  • Interview Questions
    • "Tell me about the most complex problem you've solved and how you approached it."
    • "Describe a time when you had to break down a large, complex problem into manageable pieces."
    • "How do you approach problems when you don't have all the information you need?"
    • "Tell me about a time when you had to solve a problem that required thinking beyond just the technical solution."
> What They Deliver​
  • What types of deliverables and outputs are expected at each experience level?
  • How does the scope and impact of deliverables change with seniority?
  • What experience is needed for strategic deliverables?
  • Interview Questions
    • "Tell me about the most significant deliverable you've produced and its impact."
    • "How do you ensure your deliverables meet quality standards and stakeholder expectations?"
    • "Describe a time when you had to adjust your deliverables based on changing requirements."
    • "What's your approach to documenting and communicating your deliverables to others?"
> Force Multiplier​
  • How much of a force multiplier is the engineer?
  • What's the typical experience level where engineers become significant force multipliers?
  • How does force multiplication change from L4 to L7?
  • Interview Questions
    • "Tell me about a time when you helped your team work more efficiently or solve a problem faster."
    • "How do you measure your impact beyond just your individual contributions?"
    • "Describe a situation where you enabled others to be more productive."
    • "What's the most significant improvement you've made to your team's processes or productivity?"
> Mentors​
  • When do engineers typically begin mentoring others?
  • What mentoring responsibilities are appropriate for each level?
  • How does mentoring complexity increase with experience?
  • At what experience level do engineers typically start providing technical advice?
  • What types of advice are appropriate for each level?
  • How does advisory scope expand with experience?
  • What level of experience is needed to promote best practices?
  • How does the scope of promotion activities change across levels?
  • What organizational influence is typical for each level?
  • Interview Questions
    • "Tell me about someone you've mentored or helped develop professionally."
    • "How do you approach mentoring someone who has a different learning style than you?"
    • "Describe a time when you had to give difficult feedback to help someone improve."
    • "What's your approach to helping junior engineers grow their technical skills?"
    • "Tell me about a time when you provided technical guidance to a colleague or team."
    • "How do you approach giving advice when you're not sure about the best solution?"
    • "Describe a situation where your technical recommendation influenced a significant decision."
    • "What's your process for staying current with technology trends to provide relevant advice?"
    • "Tell me about a time when you championed a new technology or practice in your organization."
    • "How do you convince others to adopt better development practices?"
    • "Describe a situation where you had to push back against a technical decision you disagreed with."
    • "What's your approach to building consensus around technical standards or best practices?"
> Mindset​
  • How does leadership mindset develop with experience?
  • What mindset shifts are typical at each level?
  • How does strategic thinking evolve from L4 to L7?
  • What learning patterns are typical for each experience level?
  • How does learning focus change from technical to strategic?
  • What experience enables teaching others?
  • Interview Questions
    • "How do you approach technical decisions when there are multiple valid approaches?"
    • "Tell me about a time when you had to think beyond just the technical solution to consider business impact."
    • "How do you balance technical perfection with practical delivery constraints?"
    • "Describe how your approach to problem-solving has evolved over your career."
    • "Tell me about something new you learned recently and how you applied it."
    • "How do you stay current with technology trends and best practices?"
    • "Describe a time when you had to learn something quickly to meet a deadline."
    • "What's your approach to sharing knowledge and teaching others what you've learned?"
> Impact​
  • What's the typical scope of impact for each experience level?
  • How does impact scale change from individual to organizational?
  • What experience is needed for cross-team influence?
  • Interview Questions
    • "Tell me about a project where your work had impact beyond just your immediate team."
    • "How do you measure the success of your technical contributions?"
    • "Describe a time when you influenced a decision that affected multiple teams or departments."
    • "What's the most significant technical change you've driven in your organization?"
> Alignment & Consensus​
  • How does the ability to align people and build consensus evolve with experience?
  • What's the typical scope of alignment responsibilities for each level?
  • How does consensus building change from team-level to organizational-level?
  • Interview Questions
    • "Tell me about a time when you had to get multiple people or teams aligned on a technical decision."
    • "How do you handle situations where team members have conflicting opinions on technical approaches?"
    • "Describe a time when you had to build consensus around a controversial technical decision."
    • "What's your approach to getting buy-in from stakeholders who initially disagreed with your proposal?"
    • "Tell me about a time when you had to align multiple teams around a shared technical vision."
    • "How do you ensure that everyone understands and supports the direction you're proposing?"
> Customer Interactions​
  • Who does the engineer interact with? Are they internal? external? How do they interact?
  • At what experience level do engineers typically interact with external customers?
  • How does customer interaction complexity increase with seniority?
  • Interview Questions
    • "Tell me about a time when you had to work directly with customers or stakeholders."
    • "How do you handle technical discussions with non-technical stakeholders?"
    • "Describe a situation where you had to translate complex technical concepts for business users."
    • "What's your approach to gathering requirements from customers or product managers?"
> Influences​
  • What level of experience is needed to influence technical decisions?
  • How does influence scope expand from team to organization?
  • What experience enables strategic influence?
  • Interview Questions
    • "Tell me about a time when you influenced a technical decision that others initially disagreed with."
    • "How do you build consensus around technical approaches when there are competing opinions?"
    • "Describe a situation where you had to influence stakeholders outside your immediate team."
    • "What's your approach to presenting technical recommendations to leadership?"
> Collaborates With​
  • Where in the "codebase" does the engineer operate?
  • What components are they responsible for?
  • How does collaboration scope change with experience?
  • Interview Questions
    • "Tell me about a time when you had to collaborate with multiple teams on a project."
    • "How do you handle disagreements or conflicts when working with other engineers?"
    • "Describe a situation where you had to work with non-technical stakeholders to deliver a solution."
    • "What's your approach to code reviews and technical discussions with peers?"
> Guidance / Autonomy​
  • How does autonomy level change with experience?
  • What guidance is typical for each level?
  • When do engineers typically work independently?
  • Interview Questions
    • "Tell me about a time when you had to work independently on a complex project."
    • "How do you know when to ask for help versus figuring things out on your own?"
    • "Describe a situation where you had to make a decision without clear guidance from your manager."
    • "What's your approach to managing your own workload and priorities?"
> Abilities​
  • What specialized abilities and skills develop at each experience level?
  • How do technical capabilities evolve from basic programming to advanced leadership?
  • What unique competencies distinguish each level from the others?
  • Interview Questions
    • "Tell me about a time when you had to learn a new technology or skill quickly to solve a problem."
    • "Describe a situation where your technical expertise helped you solve a difficult problem."
    • "What's the most complex technical challenge you've overcome, and what abilities did you develop?"
    • "How do you stay current with new technologies and build your technical capabilities?"
    • "Tell me about a time when you had to apply your expertise in a new or unfamiliar domain."
> Decisions​

  • What types of decisions are appropriate for each experience level?

  • How does decision scope and impact change with seniority?

  • What experience is needed for architectural decisions?

  • Interview Questions

    • "Tell me about a significant technical decision you made and how you arrived at it."
    • "How do you evaluate trade-offs when making technical decisions?"
    • "Describe a time when you had to make a decision with incomplete information."
    • "What's your process for involving others in important technical decisions?"
> Problem Solving (Ambiguity)​
  • How well does the engineer deal with ambiguity?
  • How broken down must the problem be before they can start working on it?
  • How does ambiguity tolerance develop with experience?
  • Interview Questions
    • "Tell me about a time when you had to work on a project with unclear requirements."
    • "How do you approach a problem when you don't have all the information you need?"
    • "Describe a situation where you had to make assumptions and how you validated them."
    • "What's your process for breaking down a vague or ambiguous problem into actionable steps?"
> Problem Solving (Complexity)​
  • What level of complexity can the engineer deal with?
  • How does complexity handling improve with experience?
  • What experience is needed for system-level complexity?
  • Interview Questions
    • "Tell me about the most complex technical problem you've solved."
    • "How do you approach debugging a complex system with multiple interconnected components?"
    • "Describe a time when you had to refactor a large, complex codebase."
    • "What's your process for understanding and working with legacy systems?"
> Deeply Understands​
  • What depth of understanding is typical for each experience level?
  • How does expertise breadth and depth develop over time?
  • What experience is needed for domain expertise?
  • Interview Questions
    • "Tell me about a technology or domain where you have deep expertise."
    • "How do you build deep understanding of complex systems or technologies?"
    • "Describe a time when your deep knowledge helped solve a difficult problem."
    • "What's your approach to becoming a subject matter expert in new areas?"
> Codebase​
  • Where in the "codebase" does the engineer operate?
  • What components are they responsible for?
  • How does the scope of codebase responsibility change with experience?
  • Interview Questions
    • "Tell me about the largest codebase or system you've worked on and your role in it."
    • "Describe how you approach understanding and working with a new codebase."
    • "What's your experience with maintaining and refactoring existing code?"
    • "How do you ensure code quality and consistency across the components you work on?"
    • "Tell me about a time when you had to work across multiple systems or codebases."
> Delivery Contributions​
  • What delivery contributions are typical for each level?
  • How does delivery scope change with experience?
  • What experience is needed for project leadership?
  • Interview Questions
    • "Tell me about a project you delivered that had significant impact."
    • "How do you ensure quality while meeting delivery deadlines?"
    • "Describe a time when you had to adjust your approach to meet a delivery commitment."
    • "What's your process for estimating and planning project delivery?"
> Process Contributions​
  • What process improvements are appropriate for each level?
  • How does process influence expand with experience?
  • What experience enables organizational process changes?
  • Interview Questions
    • "Tell me about a process improvement you implemented in your team or organization."
    • "How do you identify opportunities to improve development processes?"
    • "Describe a time when you had to convince others to adopt a new process or tool."
    • "What's your approach to measuring the impact of process changes?"
> Solution Quality​
  • What quality standards are expected at each experience level?
  • How does solution sophistication increase with experience?
  • What experience enables architectural quality decisions?
  • Interview Questions
    • "Tell me about a time when you had to choose between multiple technical approaches and how you decided."
    • "How do you ensure your solutions are maintainable and scalable?"
    • "Describe a situation where you had to refactor or improve existing code quality."
    • "What's your approach to balancing technical debt with feature delivery?"
Action Items (Post Enhancement)
  • add vision dimension to metric
  • add document dimension/ time spent on different artifacts ...
  • add leadership dimension...
  • add a insists on higher standard ...
  • add an element of transitioning to the matrix?
    • what did you have to overcome
    • what did you have to realize before you could take the next step ...?
  • I need to add better tags: career growth, building, promotion, ... level up, ...
  • Add an element of ... what do people look for when they are interviewing an SDE II? 3?
  • Career Growth Action Items
  • where is the force multiplier dimension
  • "force-power" 10 forcepower ...
  • Figure out if there are resuable highlighter for markdown shortcut mechanics here ...
  • Add payscale? [won't do]
  • Add RACI ... skils?
    • Whats the difference between responsible and accontable ...
  • Add highlight links to the shortcuts ... @done(2022-05-17T10:30:45-05:00)
  • Split by themes @done(2022-05-17T10:30:39-05:00)
  • Fix headings for sidebar @done(2022-05-17T10:30:38-05:00)
Additional Resources
🤖 AI Metadata (Click to expand)
# AI METADATA - DO NOT REMOVE OR MODIFY
# AI_UPDATE_INSTRUCTIONS:
# This blog post is tightly coupled with the SdeSkill component and requires
# careful synchronization to maintain functionality and accuracy.
#
# 1. SCAN_SOURCES: Monitor /src/components/SdeSkill.jsx for skill definition changes
# 2. EXTRACT_DATA: Extract skill codes, descriptions, and mappings from SdeSkill component
# 3. UPDATE_CONTENT: Update skill links, descriptions, table references, and rubrics to match component
# 4. VERIFY_CHANGES: Test that all skill links navigate correctly and table displays properly
# 5. MAINTAIN_FORMAT: Preserve the interactive skill components and search anchor format
#
# CONTENT_PATTERNS:
# - Skill Links: [SKILL_CODE]: #skill-anchor:~:text=%3E%20Skill%20Name format
# - Interactive Components: <SdeSkill role="SDE" skill="CODE" l="LEVEL"/> format
# - Purpose Section: Must use "I need to..." format for each bullet point
# - Skills Section: Should contain key questions that address what each skill measures
# - Interview Questions: Use format "* *Interview Questions:*" with indented sub-bullets
# - Experience Information: Include typical experience ranges and progression context
# - Rubrics Section: Tabbed comparisons must reflect current skill expectations from component
#
# DATA_SOURCES:
# - Primary: /src/components/SdeSkill.jsx (skill definitions and mappings)
# - Secondary: This document (skill descriptions, questions, and rubrics)
#
# UPDATE_TRIGGERS:
# - SdeSkill.jsx component changes (skill additions, modifications, removals)
# - Skill code changes in the component
# - New competency areas or level requirements
# - Changes to skill progression or level expectations
# - Modifications to skill descriptions that affect level differentiators
#
# FORMATTING_RULES:
# - Maintain exact skill code matching between table and component
# - Preserve text search anchors for skill navigation
# - Keep theme groupings consistent (Problem Solving, Technical, etc.)
# - Ensure all skill links use proper markdown link format
# - Maintain collapsible AI metadata section format
# - Interview questions must use consistent bullet formatting with indented sub-bullets
# - Experience information should be included in Engineer Levels Overview section
# - All interview questions should be behavioral and level-appropriate
# - Rubrics must accurately reflect skill expectations from SdeSkill component
# - Tabbed rubrics should use Docusaurus Tabs/TabItem components with proper imports
#
# RUBRIC_UPDATE_REQUIREMENTS:
# - When skill descriptions change in SdeSkill.jsx, update corresponding rubric comparisons
# - Ensure rubric tables reflect current skill expectations for each level
# - Update behavioral indicators when skill progression changes
# - Maintain consistency between main skill table and rubric differentiators
# - Verify that interview questions in rubrics align with skill expectations
# - Keep tab labels descriptive and consistent with level terminology
#
# LINK_ACCURACY_REQUIREMENTS:
# - Verify all skill link references match exact section titles
# - Check that [CODE]: #anchor:~:text=%3E%20Section%20Title format matches actual section headers
# - Ensure highlighting links work by testing navigation from table to sections
# - When adding new skills, create matching link references with correct text encoding
# - URL encode special characters in section titles (e.g., & becomes %26, / becomes %2F)
# - Verify that all skill codes in table have corresponding link references at bottom
# - Test that clicking skill names in table properly highlights and navigates to sections
#
# VERIFICATION_CHECKLIST:
# - [ ] All skill codes in component exist in blog post table
# - [ ] All skill codes in blog post table exist in component
# - [ ] All skill links navigate correctly and highlight properly
# - [ ] Interview questions are level-appropriate and behavioral
# - [ ] AI metadata reflects current skill dependencies
# - [ ] Link reference text matches exact section titles (case-sensitive)
# - [ ] Special characters in section titles are properly URL encoded
# - [ ] All skills have complete sections with interview questions
#
# UPDATE_FREQUENCY: Check monthly or when SdeSkill component is modified