What Companies Want

Titles based on experience level

There is some consensus on what to call each experience level. If we had to condense each:

• Junior: Learning best practices, executing under guidance. “Intermediate” developers also fall into this bucket by virtue of being not-senior
• Senior: Independent execution, mentorship of Juniors
• Staff: Team lead, defining best practices, architecture, and improving productivity
• Principal: Industry accomplishments, owning technology/roadmap;
• Large companies also have “Architect”, “Distinguished” and “Fellow” titles to reflect various degrees of super-seniority.