Senior Software Engineer (SSE) with Tech Lead Role

There are additional responsibilities for an SSE who has an additional tech lead (technical and/or team) role. The Technical Lead description provides further details on the overall responsibilities of this role. The following outlines responsibilities for the tech lead role using the same categories as above:

Note: as one progresses along a career path, one should possess and show all qualities of levels below.

Years of Experience: 5+

Knowledge & Technical Skill

  • Has deep knowledge and experience with the project(s) leading

  • Makes design decisions for the project(s) responsible for

  • Owns the technical testing and performance plan for their projects

  • Is a prolific contributor to both core projects as well as side and experimental work

Impact & Output

  • Partners with Product to manage scope and deliverables for the technical side of the product roadmap

  • Sets direction at the project/service level and consistently influences decision making for the project/team

  • Delegates and deputizes effectively; ensures tasks are completed as specified without micromanaging

  • Continues to contribute bug fixes and small features without becoming a bottleneck for the project/team

  • Focused on and responsible for the team's productivity and collective impact; uses team retrospectives to learn how to improve future planning and execution

  • Able to identify areas of strategic technical debt and provide cost/benefit analysis for eliminating this debt and suggested timelines for how to prioritize it

Communication

  • Ensures project/work/decisions are well-documented

  • Sets clear expectations for team members; solicits, synthesizes and delivers feedback

Leadership

  • Comfortable managing team members with different skill sets and technical areas of focus

  • Identifies and proposes strategies around technical problems affecting their team, communicates standards and gets buy-in on solutions

  • Participates in the Monthly Architecture Meeting; provides feedback on projects outside of their core area

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