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-# Career Ladders for Infrastructure Engineers
-
-**Comprehensive career progression frameworks for individual contributors and managers.**
-
----
-
-## Overview
-
-**Career ladders provide:**
-- Clear expectations at each level
-- Transparent path to promotion
-- Fair and consistent evaluation
-- Motivation and retention
-
-**Two tracks:**
-1. **Individual Contributor (IC):** L3 → L4 → L5 → L6 → L7+
-2. **Manager (M):** M3 → M4 → M5 → M6+
-
-**Key principle:** IC and Manager tracks are **parallel and equal** - neither is "better" or "higher"
-
----
-
-## Individual Contributor (IC) Track
-
-### L3: Junior Engineer (0-2 years experience)
-
-**Scope:** Executes well-defined tasks with guidance
-
-**Technical Skills:**
-- Learning fundamentals of domain (cloud, K8s, CI/CD, etc.)
-- Can implement solutions following team patterns
-- Asks good questions and seeks help appropriately
-- Basic troubleshooting and debugging skills
-
-**Impact:**
-- Completes assigned tasks on time
-- Minimal re-work needed on code reviews
-- Contributes to team velocity
-
-**Collaboration:**
-- Actively participates in team meetings
-- Responsive to code review feedback
-- Documents work clearly
-- Seeks mentorship and feedback
-
-**Typical Projects:**
-- Implement feature using existing patterns
-- Fix bugs in well-understood systems
-- Write tests and documentation
-- Participate in on-call (shadowing)
-
-**Promotion to L4:**
-- 12-18 months at L3 (depending on growth)
-- Consistently delivers tasks independently
-- Shows readiness for bigger scope
-
----
-
-### L4: Engineer (2-5 years experience)
-
-**Scope:** Owns small-to-medium projects independently
-
-**Technical Skills:**
-- Proficient in core technologies of domain
-- Can design and implement solutions with minimal guidance
-- Understands trade-offs and makes reasonable technical decisions
-- Effective at debugging complex issues
-
-**Impact:**
-- Owns projects end-to-end (design, implement, deploy, monitor)
-- Delivers high-quality work consistently
-- Reduces technical debt through refactoring
-- Participates in on-call rotation effectively
-
-**Collaboration:**
-- Gives thoughtful code reviews
-- Mentors L3 engineers informally
-- Shares knowledge through documentation and demos
-- Collaborates across teams when needed
-
-**Typical Projects:**
-- Design and implement new CI/CD pipeline
-- Build self-service infrastructure provisioning
-- Lead observability implementation
-- Migrate service to new infrastructure
-
-**Promotion to L5:**
-- 2-3 years at L4
-- Consistently delivers complex projects
-- Shows technical leadership potential
-- Ready for broader scope and mentorship
-
----
-
-### L5: Senior Engineer (5-8 years experience)
-
-**Scope:** Owns large, ambiguous projects; mentors engineers
-
-**Technical Skills:**
-- Expert in domain with broad knowledge across stack
-- Designs systems with scalability, reliability, and maintainability
-- Makes complex technical decisions with sound reasoning
-- Debugs and resolves production incidents quickly
-
-**Impact:**
-- Leads major initiatives that span multiple quarters
-- Significantly improves team productivity or reliability
-- Reduces on-call burden through automation and prevention
-- Influences technical direction of team
-
-**Collaboration:**
-- Actively mentors L3/L4 engineers
-- Leads architecture discussions and design reviews
-- Writes detailed design docs and RFCs
-- Builds consensus across teams
-- Represents team in cross-functional forums
-
-**Typical Projects:**
-- Design and implement internal developer platform
-- Lead Kubernetes migration for 50+ services
-- Build observability platform from scratch
-- Design and implement disaster recovery strategy
-
-**Promotion to L6:**
-- 3-5 years at L5
-- Consistent track record of high-impact technical leadership
-- Recognized expert in domain
-- Operates at multi-team scope
-
----
-
-### L6: Staff Engineer (8-12 years experience)
-
-**Scope:** Drives multi-team initiatives; sets technical direction
-
-**Technical Skills:**
-- Domain expert; deep and broad technical knowledge
-- Designs systems at org scale (hundreds of services)
-- Anticipates future needs and plans strategically
-- Debugs the most complex, ambiguous issues
-
-**Impact:**
-- Drives initiatives that span multiple teams/quarters
-- Defines technical strategy for domain (platform, SRE, security, etc.)
-- Unblocks teams through technical leadership
-- Improves engineering productivity across org
-- Reduces major risks and prevents outages
-
-**Collaboration:**
-- Mentors L5 engineers and helps them grow to Staff
-- Leads org-wide architecture discussions
-- Influences engineering culture and best practices
-- Partners with senior management on technical strategy
-- Represents company at conferences or open-source communities
-
-**Typical Projects:**
-- Design and lead multi-region active-active migration
-- Build developer platform that enables 100+ engineers
-- Define and implement org-wide observability strategy
-- Lead technical due diligence for acquisition
-
-**Archetypes (different Staff eng paths):**
-- **Tech Lead:** Leads critical team/initiative
-- **Architect:** Designs org-wide systems and standards
-- **Solver:** Tackles the hardest, most ambiguous problems
-- **Right Hand:** Partners with eng leadership on technical strategy
-
-**Promotion to L7:**
-- 3-5+ years at L6
-- Organization-wide impact and recognition
-- Seen as THE expert in domain
-- Ready for industry-level influence
-
----
-
-### L7+: Principal / Distinguished Engineer (12+ years)
-
-**Scope:** Drives technical vision for organization; industry expert
-
-**Technical Skills:**
-- Industry expert; recognized externally
-- Designs systems at scale (thousands of services, millions of users)
-- Creates new technologies or patterns adopted widely
-- Thinks 3-5 years ahead strategically
-
-**Impact:**
-- Drives technical strategy for entire organization
-- Defines the technical future of company
-- Influences engineering culture and hiring bar
-- Prevents major technical risks before they occur
-- Represents company as technical authority
-
-**Collaboration:**
-- Mentors Staff+ engineers
-- Advises C-suite on technical strategy
-- Builds partnerships across industry
-- Speaks at major conferences, publishes papers
-- Open-source leadership or standards bodies
-
-**Typical Projects:**
-- Design next-generation platform architecture
-- Lead company-wide technical transformation
-- Define technical vision for 3-5 year roadmap
-- Build industry partnerships and thought leadership
-
-**Terminal level:** L7+ is terminal level for many engineers - continued growth through increasing impact, not levels
-
----
-
-## Manager (M) Track
-
-### M3: Engineering Manager (5-8 years total, 0-2 years managing)
-
-**Scope:** Manages team of 5-8 engineers (typically L3-L5)
-
-**People Management:**
-- Conducts effective 1-on-1s and career conversations
-- Provides clear, actionable feedback
-- Handles performance issues proactively
-- Recruits and hires for team
-- Develops direct reports through coaching and stretch projects
-
-**Delivery:**
-- Owns team roadmap and quarterly planning
-- Removes blockers and provides context
-- Ensures team delivers predictably and sustainably
-- Balances feature work with tech debt and operations
-
-**Technical:**
-- Understands team's technical domain deeply
-- Can review designs and code effectively
-- Makes informed technical trade-off decisions
-- Stays current with team's tech stack
-
-**Collaboration:**
-- Partners with product, design, and other teams
-- Represents team in planning and prioritization
-- Builds relationships across org
-- Communicates team progress and needs clearly
-
-**Typical Responsibilities:**
-- Manage 5-8 engineers
-- Deliver team OKRs quarterly
-- Hire 2-4 engineers per year
-- Handle performance and growth conversations
-- Participate in on-call escalations
-
-**Promotion to M4:**
-- 2-3 years at M3
-- Strong delivery track record
-- Team members growing and happy
-- Ready for broader scope
-
----
-
-### M4: Senior Engineering Manager (8-12 years total, 2-5 years managing)
-
-**Scope:** Manages 8-12 engineers OR 2-3 teams
-
-**People Management:**
-- Develops other managers (if managing managers)
-- Builds high-performing teams through intentional culture
-- Handles complex people situations (performance, conflict, reorganizations)
-- Strategic recruiting and hiring (building team for future needs)
-- Creates career development programs for team
-
-**Delivery:**
-- Owns multi-quarter roadmaps across teams
-- Coordinates across departments (product, design, infra, security)
-- Balances short-term delivery with long-term investment
-- Drives process improvements across teams
-
-**Technical:**
-- Sets technical direction for teams
-- Reviews and approves major technical decisions
-- Ensures technical quality and consistency
-- Invests in technical debt strategically
-
-**Collaboration:**
-- Influences department-level strategy and planning
-- Partners with senior leadership on priorities
-- Mentors other managers in org
-- Represents org in company forums
-
-**Typical Responsibilities:**
-- Manage 8-12 ICs or 2-3 managers
-- Deliver department-level OKRs
-- Hire and develop managers
-- Set technical standards across teams
-- Drive org-level initiatives
-
-**Promotion to M5:**
-- 3-5 years at M4
-- Consistent delivery at scale
-- Strong people development track record
-- Ready for org-level leadership
-
----
-
-### M5: Director of Engineering (12+ years total, 5+ years managing)
-
-**Scope:** Manages 30-50 engineers across multiple teams
-
-**People Management:**
-- Builds manager bench through hiring and development
-- Creates org-level culture and values
-- Handles org-wide people programs (performance, promotions, compensation)
-- Strategic talent planning (skill gaps, succession, diversity)
-- Represents org in company-wide people initiatives
-
-**Delivery:**
-- Sets annual roadmap and OKRs for org
-- Allocates resources across teams and priorities
-- Drives cross-org initiatives and dependencies
-- Ensures org delivers predictably at scale
-
-**Technical:**
-- Sets technical vision and strategy for org
-- Reviews and approves major architectural decisions
-- Invests in technical infrastructure and platforms
-- Balances innovation with stability
-
-**Collaboration:**
-- Partners with VP and C-level on company strategy
-- Represents engineering in executive forums
-- Builds partnerships across departments
-- Influences company-wide technical decisions
-
-**Typical Responsibilities:**
-- Manage 4-7 managers (30-50 total engineers)
-- Set org vision and annual plans
-- Budget ownership ($5M-$20M+)
-- Recruiting strategy for org
-- Represent org to company leadership
-
-**Promotion to M6:**
-- 3-5+ years at M5
-- Significant org-level impact
-- Strong leadership reputation
-- Ready for VP or C-level role
-
----
-
-### M6+: VP Engineering / CTO
-
-**Scope:** Entire engineering organization (100-1000+ engineers)
-
-**People Management:**
-- Builds and leads engineering leadership team
-- Shapes company-wide engineering culture
-- Strategic talent acquisition and retention
-- Represents engineering at board level
-
-**Delivery:**
-- Sets multi-year technical strategy for company
-- Owns engineering productivity and efficiency
-- Drives major company-wide technical initiatives
-- Ensures engineering scales with company growth
-
-**Technical:**
-- Defines technical vision for company
-- Makes build-vs-buy and technology bets
-- Ensures engineering excellence and quality
-- Represents company as technical authority
-
-**Collaboration:**
-- Member of executive leadership team
-- Partners with CEO and board
-- Builds external partnerships and reputation
-- Influences industry and technical community
-
----
-
-## Compensation Bands
-
-**Note:** These are rough guideline ranges for mid-market tech companies. Adjust for company size, location, and market conditions.
-
-### Individual Contributor
-
-| Level | Title | Base Salary | Total Comp (with equity) |
-|-------|-------|-------------|--------------------------|
-| L3 | Junior Engineer | $100K-$130K | $110K-$150K |
-| L4 | Engineer | $130K-$160K | $150K-$190K |
-| L5 | Senior Engineer | $160K-$200K | $190K-$250K |
-| L6 | Staff Engineer | $200K-$250K | $250K-$350K |
-| L7 | Principal Engineer | $250K-$300K | $350K-$500K |
-| L8 | Distinguished Engineer | $300K-$400K+ | $500K-$800K+ |
-
-### Manager Track
-
-| Level | Title | Base Salary | Total Comp (with equity) |
-|-------|-------|-------------|--------------------------|
-| M3 | Engineering Manager | $170K-$210K | $200K-$270K |
-| M4 | Senior EM | $210K-$260K | $260K-$350K |
-| M5 | Director | $250K-$320K | $320K-$450K |
-| M6 | VP Engineering | $300K-$400K+ | $450K-$700K+ |
-| M7 | SVP / CTO | $350K-$500K+ | $600K-$1M+ |
-
-**Regional multipliers:**
-- SF Bay Area: 1.2-1.3x
-- NYC/Seattle: 1.1-1.2x
-- Austin/Denver: 1.0-1.1x
-- Remote (US): 0.9-1.0x (location-based)
-
----
-
-## Promotion Criteria
-
-### General Principles
-
-**What promotion means:**
-- Already operating at next level for 6+ months
-- Consistent performance, not one-off projects
-- Clear evidence of increased scope and impact
-
-**What promotion is NOT:**
-- Reward for tenure (time != promotion)
-- Consolation for not getting other opportunities
-- Response to external offer
-- Given preemptively for "potential"
-
-### Promotion Process
-
-```
-Typical promotion cycle:
-
-1. Manager Assessment (Continuous)
-   ├── Observes engineer operating at next level
-   ├── Collects evidence over 6+ months
-   └── Discusses readiness with engineer
-
-2. Promotion Packet (Quarterly)
-   ├── Manager writes promotion packet
-   ├── Evidence: Projects, impact, growth
-   ├── Peer feedback (360 reviews)
-   └── Scope comparison to others at level
-
-3. Calibration (Quarterly)
-   ├── Managers meet to review all packets
-   ├── Compare candidates across teams
-   ├── Ensure consistent bar across org
-   └── Approve or defer promotions
-
-4. Communication (After approval)
-   ├── Manager shares decision with engineer
-   ├── Celebration with team
-   ├── Updated title and compensation
-   └── New expectations discussed
-```
-
-### Common Promotion Mistakes
-
-**Promoting too early:**
-- Engineer not yet consistently operating at level
-- Based on potential rather than demonstrated performance
-- Result: Engineer struggles, loses confidence
-
-**Promoting too late:**
-- Engineer operating at level for 12+ months
-- Manager delays due to process friction
-- Result: Engineer leaves for better opportunity
-
-**Promoting for wrong reasons:**
-- Retention play after external offer
-- "Owed" after missing previous cycle
-- Political pressure from other teams
-
-**Right approach:**
-- Promote when ready (6-12 months at level)
-- Based on consistent performance and scope
-- Transparent criteria and decision process
-
----
-
-## Lateral Moves and Career Pivots
-
-### IC → Manager Transition
-
-**When to consider:**
-- Strong interest in people and leadership
-- Track record of mentorship and collaboration
-- Willing to step back from hands-on technical work
-- Comfortable with ambiguity and conflict
-
-**Process:**
-- Start with tech lead role (still IC)
-- Manage 1-2 interns or junior engineers
-- Transition to full-time manager (M3)
-- First 6 months: probation period
-
-**Important:** Manager track is NOT a "promotion" - it's a career change
-
-### Manager → IC Transition
-
-**Why engineers return to IC:**
-- Miss hands-on technical work
-- Prefer deep work over meetings and politics
-- Stronger fit for technical leadership
-- Want to be principal/staff engineer
-
-**Process:**
-- Transparent conversation with leadership
-- Transition plan (handoff team, find coverage)
-- Return at appropriate IC level (usually L5 or L6)
-- No stigma or penalty
-
-**Important:** This is a valid career move, not a demotion
-
----
-
-## Skills Development for Each Level
-
-### L3 → L4 (0-2 years)
-**Focus:** Execution and learning
-- Master 2-3 core technologies deeply
-- Learn debugging and troubleshooting
-- Write clear documentation
-- Participate in code reviews
-- Shadow on-call rotation
-
-### L4 → L5 (2-5 years)
-**Focus:** Ownership and quality
-- Own projects end-to-end
-- Design solutions independently
-- Mentor junior engineers
-- Lead incident response
-- Contribute to architecture discussions
-
-### L5 → L6 (5-8 years)
-**Focus:** Technical leadership and strategy
-- Lead multi-quarter initiatives
-- Drive architecture decisions
-- Mentor senior engineers
-- Build consensus across teams
-- Think strategically about technical debt
-
-### L6 → L7 (8-12+ years)
-**Focus:** Organizational impact
-- Drive org-wide technical strategy
-- Influence engineering culture
-- Mentor staff engineers
-- Represent company externally
-- Solve highest-impact problems
-
----
-
-## Career Conversations
-
-### Quarterly Career 1-on-1
-
-**Manager preparation:**
-- Review engineer's goals from last quarter
-- Collect feedback from peers and cross-functional partners
-- Identify growth opportunities and gaps
-- Prepare specific examples of performance
-
-**Discussion structure:**
-```
-1. Reflection (15 min)
-   - "How do you feel about your growth this quarter?"
-   - "What are you most proud of?"
-   - "What was challenging?"
-
-2. Feedback (15 min)
-   - Share specific examples of strengths
-   - Discuss areas for development
-   - Compare to expectations for level
-
-3. Goals (20 min)
-   - Set 2-3 development goals for next quarter
-   - Identify projects or opportunities for growth
-   - Discuss longer-term career aspirations
-
-4. Action plan (10 min)
-   - What support does engineer need from you?
-   - What skills to develop?
-   - Timeline for next promotion discussion
-```
-
-### Annual Promotion Discussion
-
-**If promotion is possible:**
-- "You're on track for promotion to L[X] in next 6-12 months"
-- Specific gaps to close: [list 2-3 areas]
-- Projects to demonstrate readiness: [suggest opportunities]
-- Timeline: Target [specific promotion cycle]
-
-**If promotion is not yet ready:**
-- "You're performing well at L[X], but not yet ready for L[X+1]"
-- Clear feedback on gaps (scope, impact, technical depth)
-- Specific development plan to get there
-- Revisit in 3-6 months
-
----
-
-## Key Takeaways for Managers
-
-1. **Make expectations clear** - Engineers should know what's expected at their level
-2. **Promote for performance, not potential** - Wait until consistently operating at level
-3. **Be transparent** - Regular career conversations prevent surprises
-4. **Calibrate across teams** - Ensure consistent bar across org
-5. **Support growth** - Provide opportunities and feedback to help engineers level up
-6. **IC and Manager tracks are equal** - Neither is superior
-7. **Career pivots are healthy** - Support lateral moves and transitions
-8. **Document progress** - Keep notes for promotion packets
-9. **Celebrate promotions** - Make it meaningful for engineer and team
-10. **Long-term thinking** - Career development takes years, not quarters
-
-Your job is to help every engineer reach their full potential, whether that's Staff IC or Engineering Manager.