Are these two levels really equivalent? I really look up to the L6s in my org, they are pretty solid engineers. I have had some really impactful and big releases that I delivered end to end in a core AWS service but I am still a year and a half away from an L6 promo. I was able to clear Google L5 interviews relatively with ease. Though I don't have a team match yet, I wanted to learn what's the scope of an L5 at Google? Is it equivalent to an L6 at AWS/Amazon? I shouldn't be setting myself up for failure should I go for this eventually? Yoe: 7 TC: 320k L5 at AWS
The levels are the same but L5 at Google has lost all meaning. You have people with 4-5 YoE getting hired at L5 these days.
Is it common these days new and external hires come as L6 at Google?
Yeah. I have an L5 on my team who graduated from university 2 years ago 🤦♂️.
L5 G is equivalent to L6 Amazon, but if you want to become an EM eventually, it is much easier to do that at Amazon L6.
Is EM at Google L5 or L6?
L6. L5 EMs are a rarity at Google and are typically used as an appeasing tool for TLs who are not quite able to crack L6.
hi, G L6 EM, ex A L5/L6 SDE/SDM. for SWE/SDE, scope-wise, G L5 is in-between top-20% A L5 and bottom 70% A L6. top-30% A L6 have scope more similar to G L6. L7 is similar for both companies. for EM/SDM, scope-wise, the levels are about the same, nominally. G L5 = A L5, G L6 = A L6, etc. amazon has more scope parity between IC and M, probably because transitioning between them is more common, amazon doesn't have TLMs, and it's possible for an amazon mid-level sub-senior engineer to transition to SDM (at amazon L5). line engineering manager levels at google (L5/L6) are at least senior-engineer-equivalent. amazon also skips "Staff" and goes straight to Principal. amazon and google L7 engineers are similar.
I disagree here. Amazon L7 is more or less equal to G L6. I have seen quite a few joke of an L7s at Amazon and yet to see a joke of an L6 at Google.
Amazon L7 leveling distribution among SDEs is 1/60. Google L6 is something like 1/8. Given a large enough sample size there'll be people who are shit at their jobs but overall the scope isn't really comparable.
Regardless of what levels is saying, having been at both A and G, I +1 to what Fahrenheyt is saying.
L5 G >>>> L5 SDE at Amazon. As L6 promotion is 1-2 years away for you, this is a no brainer
L6 at Amazon is a pretty wide band and the top 25% of it matches Google’s L6. We have phenomenal L5 engineers in some orgs that I haven’t seen in any other company. Interview difficulty is irrelevant
You mention core service so I assume it's like dynamodb, s3, or ec2. Definitely match with a team and project that suits your skills. Level is too generic and I would make sure your next project is something you are interested in doing for the next couple of years.
Lots of former L6 / L7s Amazon at Snap and they are much much more technically sound than any equivalent levels from Google I've personally seen
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The levels are the same. See levels.fyi for the mapping