The framework is built around one core principle: master your current level before reaching for the next. Scope of impact grows with each level — from yourself, to your pair, to your team, to the organization.
SE1 — Curious IC
You're building your foundation. The primary signals are aptitude and attitude — are you learning, asking good questions, and validating your assumptions with peers?
At this level, it's more important to be curious and coachable than to be right.
SE2 — Strong IC
You deliver quality work independently. Key signals:
- You rotate pairs without missing a beat.
- You practice test-driven development and hold yourself to it.
- You communicate clearly about blockers and keep the team updated without being asked.
- You're aligned with the team mission and can articulate why the work matters.
- You give written feedback to peers — specific, actionable, and timely.
SE3 — Strong IC with Team Impact
Your influence extends beyond your own delivery. You're shaping how the team works.
- You educate the team or refactor code to apply technical principles at scale.
- You facilitate meetings that produce clear, actionable outcomes.
- You identify architectural problems before they become production incidents.
- You balance time between assigned work and self-directed improvements that benefit the team.
SE4 — Exemplary Senior Engineer
Your scope is the organization. You operate in ambiguous, high-stakes areas and make others better.
- You articulate architectural changes within the broader business context — not just the technical rationale.
- You own solution architecture end-to-end, with stakeholder buy-in.
- You scale your knowledge through documentation and tooling, not just conversations.
- You mentor team members and drive iterative delivery on complex problems.
- You're the person teams call for genuinely hard technical problems.
On Feedback
Written feedback is the mechanism that makes this framework real. Your manager should help you collect and reflect on feedback — but the documentation is what creates accountability and enables iteration. Verbal feedback evaporates. Written feedback compounds.