What are the engineering manager levels at Google ? What are the typical span of control (number of direct reportees) ? Do they start at M0 ? Is M0 the same as TLM ? I want to explore an engineering manager position but want to understand the levels beforehand. Thanks
Better get on leetcode, they make managers do it too
Leetcode should be ok I have been hands on
Hands on != Leet :)
manager I <-> senior SE is roughly equivalent in terms of pay (They're both L5), although I've heard the manager usually makes a smidge less.
...and, Manager I usually has between 5 and 10 reports. Are you looking at SRE?
Thanks; not really looking at SRE
Manager 1 is usually 4-6 reports and one project. Manager 2 is 8-15 reports, one more-impactful project or two related projects. Manager 3 is 15-30 people (usually with at least one manager or TLM reporting to you) and multiple M2-scope projects. Director can be ~50 to hundreds of people. At M1 and to some degree at M2 you’re expected to have some level of direct technical contributions (coding/design) in addition to people management. At M3+ you’re not expected to be doing much of that anymore; instead you should be focused on developing your teams, setting strategy, etc. (All of the numbers are approximate, what determines the level is your and your teams’ scope/impact, not the number of people in your org.)
Thank you for the detailed reply
That's a pretty accurate generalization. Quite a few PAs also frown down upon creating L5 managers. It can be tough to manage a handful of people and still have the hands on impact needed to get to L6.
Agreed, if you want to stay on the SWE ladder, taking reports at L5 will make it harder to get to L6. On the other hand if you’ve decided you want to switch to the manager ladder, it’s fine to do that, and plan on a diagonal promo from L5 SWE to L6 eng mgr (which will require that you’re managing people at L5). Most SWEs aren’t ready to make that leap at L5/6, though. (I personally went L5 SWE -> L6 SWE -> L7 Mgr, and took on reports after I got to L6, which seems to be the more common path.)
The challenge is committees still want to see TL-like impact (designs, some code output, CL reviews, ...). And if your scope-based attempt at SWM doesnt pan out, you will have trouble getting back on track for a SWE promo.
Ask Blinders
Yesterday
641
Tipping culture is really getting out of control! Waiter gave me ‘a look’ because I tipped her 10% for ‘BAD service!’
Tech Industry
Yesterday
2038
TESLA UP 14% AFTER HOURS 🎉🎉🎉🎉
India
Yesterday
676
How to save India from destruction?
Tech Industry
Yesterday
738
The new Tesla Model 3 P goes from 0-60 in 2.9 seconds
Tech Industry
Yesterday
2545
ByteDance is officially fucked
Some more context - I applied for a Senior SE position 4 years back - I was not offered and encouraged to apply later - since then the Google recruiter has called a few times but I have not tried again. I have got quite a bit of engg manager experience in this time. Now I want to apply for engg manager position