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Side-by-side leveling, scope, and market pay. Add up to four via ?keys=SWE.GEN.P5,SWE.GEN.P6.

vs
P5
DATA4.GEN.P5
Expert
P4
DATA4.GEN.P4
Career
P6
DATA4.GEN.P6
Principal Expert
P3
DATA4.GEN.P3
Career
Market pay
LevelP5 · P5 — Expert ProfessionalP4 · P4 — Senior ProfessionalP6 · P6 — Principal ProfessionalP3 · P3 — Mid-Level Professional
FunctionDatabase EngineeringDatabase EngineeringDatabase EngineeringDatabase Engineering
FocusGeneralGeneralGeneralGeneral
Typical years8–125–812–183–5
ScopeMultiple systems or a technical domainA system or set of related featuresOrganization-wide architecture and the hardest problemsFeatures or a sub-system end-to-end
AutonomySets direction within the domainSelf-directed; reviewed at critical decision pointsDefines direction; minimal oversightWorks independently on standard work; reviewed on the non-standard
ImpactOrg / multi-team outcomesMulti-team / function outcomesOrganization-wideProject / team outcomes
Decision rightsAuthority over a technical domainOwns technical decisions for a system; influences adjacent designSets technical strategy for a major areaOwns implementation decisions for own scope