roles
Senior Engineering Manager
Primary Role:
Manages multiple teams or complex org slice
Reporting Relations:
Reports to Director
Decision Making Authority:
Hiring + budget input
Stratigic Planning
Drives org-level planning
Team Management:
Manages EMs or multiple teams
Meeting Involvment:
Department leadership forums
Project Management:
Oversees multi-team delivery
Communication:
Executive-facing updates
Professional Development:
→ Director
Head of Engineering
Primary Role:
Top engineering leader (often in startup)
Reporting Relations:
Reports to CEO
Decision Making Authority:
Final say on technical direction
Stratigic Planning
Owns engineering strategy
Team Management:
Manages EMs/Directors
Meeting Involvment:
Executive team member
Project Management:
Oversees full engineering roadmap
Communication:
Board/investor communication
Professional Development:
→ VP / 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