This is how I think about software engineer levels, from Junior through Principal. I break it into three areas: Direction (what you're building and why), Engineering (how well you build it), and Approach (how you work with others).
I used it at 1KOMMA5° to evaluate my own performance and give feedback to my reports.
Level Tagline Work Unit Scope Team Scope Junior Contributing with guidance Feature
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Project
Self / Tasks Mid Independent Contributor Project
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Architecture
Team Senior Technical Team Lead Architecture
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Systems
Multi project / Multi-Team Lead Technical Domain Lead Systems
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Technical Vision
Multi domain Principal Technical Org Lead Same as Lead Org
AI makes you faster if you use it well. It also makes you faster at being wrong.
Level Expectation Junior Mid Integrates AI into personal workflow systematically Writes effective prompts, builds small automations Evaluates AI output critically Senior Lead Principal Shapes org-wide AI strategy Defines where human-in-the-loop is non-negotiable Drives competitive advantage through AI-native workflows Owns cost/value framework for AI investments
Engineers must own a part or the whole product. Lead firm, but kind.
Level Expectation Junior Knows why features matter to business or users Contributes to team architecture discussions Thinks about user impact before coding Mid Builds projects for user and business impact Owns architecture decisions Creates decision documents (RFC, ADRs) Senior Links work to company goals Leads architecture within team/domain Creates clarity for long-term direction Lead Aligns systems to company goals Drives long-term architecture direction Owns technical debt strategy Principal Defines technical vision for business impact Sets architectural north star for the org Influences company strategy
Level Expectation Junior No requirement Mid Mentors peers Unblocks others Drives clarity and healthy team habits Senior Creates clarity fast Makes hard calls Aligns decisions with business Lead Multiplies seniors Scales clarity and accountability across teams Raises performance Principal Shapes org culture Grows senior leaders Delivers through people not hierarchy
Good engineering means understanding trade-offs, not just writing code.
Level Expectation Junior Ships production code with guidance Clean code, meaningful unit tests Follows team conventions Mid Refactors confidently Adds test layers Simplifies implementation Senior Owns team code quality, velocity, and reliability Sets standards within team Optimizes entire codebase Lead Defines quality, velocity, and reliability standards Leads frameworks Drives cross team code standards Principal Defines quality, velocity, and reliability standards org-wide Leads large-scale investments Sets technology direction for the org
Level Expectation Junior Contributes to incidents Monitors metrics and dashboards on-call with guidance Learns alerting and monitoring basics Mid Participates in small responder Active in incidents Improves runbooks Senior Leads incident prevention Owns team metrics Drives zero-downtime Lead Leads reliability Reliability strategy at org level Org templates for reliability Principal Defines company-wide reliability Multi-region strategy Reliability culture by design
Level Expectation Junior Implements data flows with guidance Designs data models and pipelines Safe migrations Mid Defines metrics Query optimizations Data tests Senior Drives data-informed decisions Ensures scale Owns data lineage Lead Defines data platform, governance, and quality standards Owns data architecture across domains Leads data platform roadmap Principal Owns long-term data and analytics strategy Enterprise data strategy Privacy-by-design
Most engineering problems are communication problems.
Level Expectation Junior Communicates clearly Posts async updates as comments/tickets Uses sync discussions when needed Mid Senior Improves communication efficiency Facilitates fast decision-making in groups Elevates clarity across the team Lead Improves team and org communication structures Communicates complex topics to executives and partners Mentors others on effective communication Principal Defines technical communication culture for the org Crafts narratives that drive company strategy Models communication that aligns teams and leadership
Level Expectation Junior Ships projects fast with guidance Unblocks themselves by reaching out asap Breaks work into small deliverables Mid Independently delivers features Solves problems without waiting for permission Ships services end-to-end Senior Leads multi team projects to prod Drives multi domain high-risk projects Owns delivery timelines for complex work Lead Independently drives high-complexity projects Metrics first, code second Drastically improves iteration speed Principal
Level Expectation Junior Asks why, not just how Sees user and business pain Asks rigorously for feedback Mid Full ownership on ambiguous problems Builds prototypes Automates toil Senior Prioritizes ruthlessly Enforces write-first Turns ambiguity into plan + execution Lead Scales speed via systems Cadences, DRIs, documentation, feedback loops Multiplies ownership mindset across teams Principal