Some folks (such as Will Larson and his StaffEng project) are working towards a shared understanding, but given the variety of needs in our industry, it is still wise for each company to build their own clarity.įor the past few years, Policygenius has defined success in our Staff Engineer role via a structured career rubric. Beyond Senior, companies have a broad mix of titles, expectations, and responsibilities. Go to a conference, randomly select two engineers, and ask them to define “Senior Engineer,” and you’re likely to get similar answers (no guarantees, though). Wait, isn’t “Staff Engineer” already clear enough? This article details how we have recently increased clarity around the Staff Engineer role at Policygenius. As with most modern software companies, our engineers grow into the Senior role, and then tend to either expand their scope with people management (as a Manager, Director, etc) or without people management (as a Staff Engineer). Each of us can solve larger problems, deal with more ambiguity, work with folks across more disciplines, and effect broader changes. Director of Engineering Mason MatthewsĪt Policygenius, we believe that all employees can expand their scope and influence as they grow.
