Compare profiles
Side-by-side leveling, scope, and market pay. Add up to four via ?keys=SWE.GEN.P5,SWE.GEN.P6.
| vs | P7 PDE.GEN.P7 Senior Distinguished Engineer | P6 PDE.GEN.P6 Senior Principal Engineer | P8 PDE.GEN.P8 Distinguished Engineer | P5 PDE.GEN.P5 Principal Engineer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Market pay | — | — | — | — |
| Level | P7 · P7 — Staff / Distinguished Professional | P6 · P6 — Principal Professional | P8 · P8 — Fellow (Executive IC) | P5 · P5 — Expert Professional |
| Function | Product Development Engineering | Product Development Engineering | Product Development Engineering | Product Development Engineering |
| Focus | General | General | General | General |
| Typical years | 15–22 | 12–18 | 18–30 | 8–12 |
| Scope | Cross-organization / enterprise technical strategy | Organization-wide architecture and the hardest problems | Company- or industry-level technical leadership | Multiple systems or a technical domain |
| Autonomy | Operates autonomously at the enterprise level | Defines direction; minimal oversight | Sets own mandate; partners with executive leadership | Sets direction within the domain |
| Impact | Enterprise-wide | Organization-wide | Company- and market-level | Org / multi-team outcomes |
| Decision rights | Final technical authority across multiple domains | Sets technical strategy for a major area | Top technical voice in the company | Authority over a technical domain |