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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
P6
QCSA.GEN.P6
Distinguished
P5
QCSA.GEN.P5
Senior Principal
P4
QCSA.GEN.P4
Principal
P3
QCSA.GEN.P3
Senior
Market pay
LevelP6 · P6 — Principal ProfessionalP5 · P5 — Expert ProfessionalP4 · P4 — Senior ProfessionalP3 · P3 — Mid-Level Professional
FunctionQuality Control - Scientific AnalysisQuality Control - Scientific AnalysisQuality Control - Scientific AnalysisQuality Control - Scientific Analysis
FocusGeneralGeneralGeneralGeneral
Typical years12–188–125–83–5
ScopeOrganization-wide architecture and the hardest problemsMultiple systems or a technical domainA system or set of related featuresFeatures or a sub-system end-to-end
AutonomyDefines direction; minimal oversightSets direction within the domainSelf-directed; reviewed at critical decision pointsWorks independently on standard work; reviewed on the non-standard
ImpactOrganization-wideOrg / multi-team outcomesMulti-team / function outcomesProject / team outcomes
Decision rightsSets technical strategy for a major areaAuthority over a technical domainOwns technical decisions for a system; influences adjacent designOwns implementation decisions for own scope