I have been a sr engineer for 20 years now. What it need to move up to next level? What is the expectation for lead engineer and how can I do differently to make it happen? If you are a manager, what advices you will give to a person like me.
Lead engineer is usually a step towards becoming a manager. In the IC path title after senior engineer usually are Staff engineer or Principal engineer.
Lead = manager’s bitch. Worst job title in the world.
We don’t really have titles at Facebook but the closest thing I have to a lead, as a manager I have (successfully) fought to ensure he gets paid more than I do and it is well deserved.
I though you were talking about Zenefits. There was not a lead engineer level initially. CTO was innovative. After a massive layoff, he told some ppl they were promoted. Then those realized that a lead engineer level was created before senior and staff and they were there. Anyways, the whole Indian team of that CTO suck.
TC? I wouldn't worry about title, just follow the money and you'll get lead at some point. Some companies give you lead automatically when your pay reaches a certain range.
Unless the title is “Sir President Eminent Doctor Boss”
Base is around 188. 15% bonus. Rsu was 100k vested in 4 years . (Worth 200k now). It is the best comp I got in the last 20 years. So it is about 250 per annum. My previous team hired an idiot as lead even he is not hands on. I am good at technical stuffs and finished all assigned tasks. But I was passed on promotion. How can I do differently so I earn the title because I worth it.
Lead is not only about technical skills. Basics in skills like project planning, product management, working with people and mentoring peers play an important role (which ones depends on the company). Try to talk to a manager to find out which skills a lead should have. Then practice and learn those soft skills.
Salesforce has the highest title inflation in the industry. Are you saying you are an SMTS at Salesforce and you have 20 years of experience? There are teams that have promotions every quarter. How come you are not promoted to L yet? By now you should be an architect in Salesforce.
I’m an EM and could give you some advice. Ask yourself the following questions 1. Have you experience mentoring other engineers? Do they seek you out and are you regarded as a good teacher. Good Lead engineers don’t hide knowledge, they share it and are the tide that rises all ships for the company. 2. Related to above, do you make time for your peers or are you a lone wolf? Great leads realize that their own personal contribution isn’t everything and that it’s a team effort. 3. How are you at managing conflict? What happens when someone critiques your designs? Do you accept the feedback or become defensive? Great leads have humility and know that they are not always right, they respect other smart people around them and seek to learn from their mistakes. 4. How reliable are you and what is your work ethic? Great leads are usually rocks that their team can rely on. Not mad scientists. If you are not progressing, it’s highly likely that you need to work on your ability to work with and lead others. You actually don’t need to be that great at managing “up”. But you need a squad to be able to follow you into battle. Try reading Switch Thanks for the feedback Extreme Accountability
Yup, and another advise that TEha84 missed: DRY
More clarity on the leveling nomenclature at http://levels.fyi
OP. This is going to sound mean and i really don't mean it that way but if you've been an IC for 20 years and have not taken then step towards technical leadership or management then it's probably best to continue doing what you're doing and not pursue that path. I'm an EM and I've seen people try to pursue management careers purely because they think this is the path to promotion. This often is bad for them and for the people they end up managing. If your current company is a dead end for ICs consider switching to FAANG or similar companies where there is a clear career path (including tons of TC) for people not in management.
Most of the companies I work for are either in deep shit or there is no career path provided at all. And yes, there are a lot mediocre managers who were promoted just like what you said earlier. The goal is to get promoted to a position so that I don’t get shit as usual and be a person who shit on people. Appreciate if you could share your view on what are the criteria you used to justify one’s promotion.
So yes. Perhaps the best career move for you is to first get out of these types of companies. I can give you my experience from Uber as a pretty typical example. Levels have clear competencies. There is a doc that spells out what is expected of every level. This is what is used during promotion and when deciding bonuses. The second part is key. If you get promoted past your level of competency you will, at least in theory, have a low bonus because you perform low compared to the expectations of your level. The way promotions work is people are nominated by their managers (ideally this isn't out of the blue and you've talked to your manager about career growth). The manager will typically prepare some supporting material and write up a case. Some group of people (managers, sometimes peers) review the case to make sure it aligns with the competencies and to make sure that there is consistency across promotions. Sometimes promotions get shot down during this stage (I've seen quite a few). Most pass.
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I haven’t done shit today!
I advanced from senior to lead after I lost weight and read a few books on dealing with people “How to Win Friends and Influence People” and some others. Write down everybody’s name as you meet them.
Really, weight loss helps in moving up?
Ya, you can climb up faster 😄👻