roles
Principal Engineer
Primary Role:
Company-level technical authority for major systems
Reporting Relations:
Reports to Director/VP
Decision Making Authority:
Final say on major technical standards
Stratigic Planning
Shapes long-term tech strategy
Team Management:
None formally; deep influence
Meeting Involvment:
Executive-facing design reviews
Project Management:
Oversees strategic system initiatives
Communication:
Communicates with execs and stakeholders
Professional Development:
→ Distinguished Engineer
VP of Engineering
Primary Role:
Executive owner of engineering org performance and scale
Reporting Relations:
Reports to CEO
Decision Making Authority:
Budget, org design, and technical investment authority
Stratigic Planning
Multi-year technical + org strategy
Team Management:
Manages Directors
Meeting Involvment:
Exec + board participation
Project Management:
Oversees delivery across company
Communication:
Board-level reporting
Professional Development:
→ CTO
Tech Lead
Primary Role:
Leads technical execution for a single team
Reporting Relations:
Reports to EM
Decision Making Authority:
Day-to-day technical decisions
Stratigic Planning
Translates roadmap into implementation plan
Team Management:
None formally
Meeting Involvment:
Leads technical discussions
Project Management:
Owns delivery coordination
Communication:
Primary technical voice for team
Professional Development:
→ Staff Engineer / TLM