Compare profiles
Side-by-side leveling, scope, and market pay. Add up to four via ?keys=SWE.GEN.P5,SWE.GEN.P6.
| vs | P6 PDE.GEN.P6 Senior Principal Engineer | P5 PDE.GEN.P5 Principal Engineer | P7 PDE.GEN.P7 Senior Distinguished Engineer | P4 PDE.GEN.P4 Staff Engineer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Market pay | — | — | — | — |
| Level | P6 · P6 — Principal Professional | P5 · P5 — Expert Professional | P7 · P7 — Staff / Distinguished Professional | P4 · P4 — Senior Professional |
| Function | Product Development Engineering | Product Development Engineering | Product Development Engineering | Product Development Engineering |
| Focus | General | General | General | General |
| Typical years | 12–18 | 8–12 | 15–22 | 5–8 |
| Scope | Organization-wide architecture and the hardest problems | Multiple systems or a technical domain | Cross-organization / enterprise technical strategy | A system or set of related features |
| Autonomy | Defines direction; minimal oversight | Sets direction within the domain | Operates autonomously at the enterprise level | Self-directed; reviewed at critical decision points |
| Impact | Organization-wide | Org / multi-team outcomes | Enterprise-wide | Multi-team / function outcomes |
| Decision rights | Sets technical strategy for a major area | Authority over a technical domain | Final technical authority across multiple domains | Owns technical decisions for a system; influences adjacent design |