Description of various software development engineering levels at Product Tech companies
Software Developer
interviews/ candidate-expectations
When developers join a Product Technology company, they get confused by all the different types of roles in a company. I will start describing from the SDE job family. A job family has multiple levels. These levels are awarded to the employee based on their current skill. It usually corresponds to the salary as well.
Being knowledgeable about the levels at Amazon, Flipkart, I will consider Flipkart job levels since the company has been a golden standard in the Indian tech industry.
Software Development Engineer are usually at 5 levels, there is SDE I, SDE II, SDE III, Architect, Principal Architect. Its usually the company’s policy to keep salary ranges for each of the level separate as well as the bar. The bar indicates the level of the candidate according to various evaluations the company wants and how well the candidate can think.
Its a general intend for everyone to look at the money in the next level and try to jump fast to the next level along with the knowledge they can acquire by working with “Senior” folks in the team. This is the only way people feel like they learn. Teams or companies need to maintain a pyramid structure with more people at lower levels being mentored by higher levels. You see a range of people with different interests.
SDE One (SDE I)
When you learn the basics of Computer Science and graduate with some interest in programming, you usually get into an SDE-I role . If you have 2-3 years of experience in another company, you would be mostly considered for SDE I only.
The candidate is assumed to have basic knowledge of computers with intent to learn anything s/he is told and follow orders with reason and do them whether s/he likes them or not, but does them. Following SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) is the bare minimum expectation, finding solutions from StackOverflow is perfectly tolerable as long as they understand what they actually copied and gets a code review which matches existing code styles.
During this phase, engineers usually start with bug fixes and writing test cases( yes, this is usually missed in most Universities). You are looking at classes or functions and probably confused why the classes are organised in a highly meaningless way.
One of the strengths should be Problem Solving. When a bug is reported, able to reproduce the bug, identify the bug with help of log messages or tools and understand what has caused it and work with a team member to fix it.
To grow to the next level, it requires lot of hard work along with understanding of domain knowledge, identifying problems, writing solutions, understanding design to an extent.
SDE Two (SDE II)
When you are within a company, you get opportunities to solve problems and contribute to showcase yourself and grow the knowledge. It may take upto 1-3 years to move up from SDE I to SDE II.
Getting interviewed from outside is different from growing within the company. You get one day (apart from 2-3 rounds of telephonic) with 3-5 rounds. The reason I feel Algorithms, Data Structures, Problem Solving and Coding is asked is that they cannot ask you show your old code or spend time for a week with the team and share their proprietary codebases. (There are few companies which actually do these too).
Coding
They see how you write code given a problem. They would slightly tweak the requirements to see how you’d end up modifying the existing code. Here is where your knowledge of Design Patterns come in. All the rest of clean code, test cases, separation of concerns, DRY(don’t repeat yourself), abstractions and assumptions. What usually people do wrong in an interview is that they start coding immediately, you need to clarify anything you feel is amiss in the requirement provided.
Problem Solving
Given a problem you need to understand what may fail and why. This is part of the code you write above, but when you are at SDE-II, you need to think about Non Functional Requirements(NFR) as well. You need to think about identifying bottlenecks, identify what caused an outage in your codebase what caused the outage and pinpoint the code region (at the least).
Breadth of Knowledge
Usually a bread of knowledge is required not just in your code, but other libraries you use, may be in the infrastructure components your team uses.
What is expected out of you?
At this level, you may be in the limbo state of multiple solutions with pros and cons for each, I tell you that is a normal state to be in.
Thinking about Application Security, SSL etc., Ownership, Auth
Roles and responsibilities include mentoring SDE-Is or similar level in other job families. This the toughest position to be in, since you are neither not-experienced nor highly experienced and its tough to decide to give a new project to you and too easy to decide to give a bug fix. This is how you get to become an SDE-III by learning patience, understanding existing problems and pitch to solve them. With all these problems you face, this may be a right time to show case leader ship strengths too.
SDE Three (SDE III)
This is a very tricky level to be interviewed for, this is where engineers are supposed to be mature in taking decisions since usually it takes 5-10 years to get to that stage of maturity, knowledge, depth, breadth in your knowledge of applying solutions, dealing with NFRs, problem solving, dealing with components other than your code.
This is the level where Databases are not a black box. I have had many phone interviews to screen candidates at this level. The standard problems they face are
- Databases are black boxes
- Networking is a black box
- Data Replication across different clusters is taken care of
- Horizontal scaling works, as long as there are other DevOps managing it
- NoSQL is better than RDBMS
- Ability to keep an open mind
I will go over each of the reasons behind each of these in a separate blog post on why they don’t work.
SDE III is apart from other things is about understanding about Distributed Systems. Its important since you live in a world of SOA. This is required badly when you think about building scalable architectures and one wrong step and the team goes ‘Boom!’.
Showcasing patience at this level is important since you are the decision maker and have to deal with other SDE-Is and SDE-IIs in your team when they come in for advice.
There is system design, low level design, gathering requirements, understanding things you did not know existing or cared about the previous week like saving costs by changing hardware, identify resource wastage, building systems which all teams in your company may use, able to present your opinion in the right way to showcase The Good, The Bad and The Evil of approaches, respecting lines, understanding positives and negatives of a framework, ability to differentiate between various programming languages, anticipating problems which you may hit and differentiating between short-term and long-term.
Thats for becoming an SDE-III. Get here and ask me for what it requires to be an Architect or you may have figured it out at the scale of dimensions people work on.
I have been given an advice. With influence/privilege you can be put at a higher level than you are at, but you may not survive that level because you may not understand what is happening. I have failed an internal exam to be put into IIT (in 2003), they separated IIT classes from regular classes. I was devastated. An administrative guide who worked at the college told me this advice that he has seen people put in IIT section, but had to get downgraded after trying for 3 months and wasted them and were stuck in a limbo state.
This is the same with levels at companies as well. If you think you are at a higher level, your boss or colleague (a mature one) can tell you why you are not. There may include some political reasons or financial reasons for not promoting you if you deserve. Startup type companies will give you roles even if they can’t afford the money along with recognition. We talk about political youth party leaders who do not deserve where they are right now. Try not to be that person in your team.
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FAQs
What is a Level 5 software engineer? ›
Engineers at level five are typically senior staff engineers or advanced staff engineers. People working in these jobs typically have a minimum of seven or eight years of experience in their field. They should have the ability to perform programming tasks and large engineering projects with Independence and expertise.
What is a Level 3 software engineer? ›Software Engineer III designs and develops software applications. Performs coding, debugging, testing and troubleshooting throughout the application development process. Being a Software Engineer III may direct a few junior level software engineers. Requires a bachelor's degree.
What is a Level 4 software engineer? ›QA's Software Engineer Level 4 apprenticeship develops the real-world skills and technical grounding needed to design, test and maintain software and web systems and understand advanced programming and software development projects.
What is L1 L2 in Sde? ›L1 support Engineers have basic knowledge of product/service and skill to troubleshoot a very basic issue like password reset, software installation/uninstallation/reinstallation. L2 support manages the tickets which routed to them by L1( L2 support also can create tickets against any issue noticed by them).
What experience is SDE 2? ›For SDE-2, 1+ years of experience contributing to the architecture and system design (System architecture, design patterns, LLD, HLD, reliability and scaling) of new and existing systems.
Is SDE 2 mid level? ›On the surface, SDE2 is in a mid-level, non-senior Software Development Engineer role. Some SDE2s are indeed only 2-3 years after graduation. Significant many have 15+ years of industry experience. SDE2 is a very broad level with approximately half of Amazon engineers falling into it.
What is an L7 programmer? ›L7- Senior Staff Software Engineer: 9+ years of experience. These offers are rare and most recruiters can count on one hand the number they've seen during their career. L8 and above - Requires executive sponsorship and not typically recruited externally. This is considered an executive role with large scope.
What is a level 7 software engineer? ›Senior Staff Software Engineer (Level 7)
Senior staff software engineers usually carry the responsibilities of a Level 6 software engineer and are considered equivalent to senior managers.
💰 $234k - average Google Technical Program Manager (L6) salary [updated 2022] | Candor.
How much does an L5 make at Google? ›Employees at Google as Senior Designer L5 earn an average of $301k, mostly ranging from $289k to $461k based on 70 profiles.
Is engineer 1 or 2 higher? ›
Engineer I is the entry level engineer classification. Incumbents perform less complex office and field civil engineering work under direct supervision in preparation for advancement to the journey level of Engineer II. Engineer II is the advanced level class in the engineering series, not requiring registration.
How much does a L4 make at Google? ›$225,957. The estimated total pay for a Software Engineer L4 at Google is $225,957 per year.
Is L4 a senior software engineer? ›Senior Software Engineer L4 pay FAQ
The national average salary for a Senior Software Engineer L4 is $125,370 per year in United States.
Performs coding, debugging, testing and troubleshooting throughout the application development process. Being a Software Engineer I requires a bachelor's degree. Typically reports to a manager. The Software Engineer I works on projects/matters of limited complexity in a support role. Work is closely managed.
What is L2 L3 L4 support? ›L2 will be High priority tickets and need to be resolved within 8 hours. L3 will be the Medium priority ticket and needs to be resolved within 24 Hours. L4 will be the Low priority ticket and needs to be resolved within 48 Hours. And the priority and the time period will depends on the client.
What is L1 L2 L3 support? ›They are experts in their domain and handle the most difficult problems, mostly assisting both level 1 and level 2 specialists. They do also code changes, research and develop solutions for challenging new or unknown issues.
What is L0 L1 L2 L3 support? ›L0 Tier of Technical Support. Understanding L1 Tier of Technical Support. Understanding L2 Tier of Technical Support. Understanding L3 Tier of Technical Support.
How many years experience sde3? ›Requirements: A minimum of 6-9 years of professional experience as a Backend developer with good knowledge of Python. Good understanding of data structures/algorithms, low-level design, and system design.
What does SDE 1 require? ›Requirements for Being SDE:
Deep expertise in at least one programming language and tech stack. Substantial experience in building complex and scalable solutions. Be able to conceptualize and develop a prototype quickly. Hands on working with databases and other technologies.
SDE-2 salary in India with less than 2 year of experience to 7 years ranges from ₹ 12.8 Lakhs to ₹ 55 Lakhs with an average annual salary of ₹ 30 Lakhs based on 1.3k salaries.
Is SDE2 senior? ›
Senior Engineer (SDE 2):
Has a few years of experience. Experience with large codebases and some architectural experience.
Average Amazon SDE-2 salary in India is ₹ 38.9 Lakhs for 3 years of experience. SDE-2 salary at Amazon India ranges between ₹ 25.0 Lakhs to ₹ 60.0 Lakhs. Internet Companies Salary estimates are based on 450 salaries received from various employees of Amazon India.
What is SDE2 in Amazon level? ›On the surface, SDE2 is in a mid-level, non-senior Software Development Engineer role. Some SDE2s are indeed only 2-3 years after graduation. Significant many have 15+ years of industry experience. SDE2 is a very broad level with approximately half of Amazon engineers falling into it.
What is Amazon L7 salary? ›Amazon L7 Information Technologist Salary | $386K-$500K+ | Levels. fyi.
What is L7 Google salary? ›According to levels. fyi, which crowdsources salary data from the biggest tech companies, those Googlers at the L7 level (i.e., senior staff software engineer) can earn an annual salary of up to $270,650 per year, coupled with $406,100 in stock options and a bonus of $81,900.
What does an L8 make at Google? ›Google L8 Software Engineer Salary | $1M-$1.27M+ | Levels. fyi.
How much does an L10 make at Google? ›Google L10 Software Engineer Salary | $145K-$3.6M+ | Levels. fyi.
Can you make 7 figures as a software engineer? ›Be an early startup employee
Many software engineers working there at the time went from making 6-figures a year to 7 or even 8. The reason for this is because of something known as stock options.
Software Engineer III (Level 4 | 2+ years of experience) Senior Software Engineer (Level 5 | Manager I equivalent) Staff Software Engineer (Level 6 | Manager II equivalent) Senior Staff Software Engineer (Level 7 | Senior Manager)
What is Amazon L6 salary? ›💰 $234k - average Amazon Technical Program Manager (L6) salary [updated 2022] | Candor.
How much do L6 Amazon employees make? ›
Amazon L6 Sales Salary in United States | $153K-$360K+ | Levels.
How many years experience for Google L5? ›| Company Location | Date | Level Name Tag | Years of Experience Total / At Company |
|---|---|---|
| Google Boston, MA | a day ago | L5 Distributed Systems (Back-End) | 12 yrs 4 yrs |
| Google San Francisco, CA | 2 days ago | L5 ML / AI | 11 yrs 2 yrs |
| Google Seattle, WA | 2 days ago | L5 Networking | 15 yrs 15 yrs |
L5 is one of Google's internal levels. They're putting it there to let people know where they were in Google's hierarchy and they note that it denotes Senior.
How much a L5 in Amazon makes? ›The estimated total pay for a L5 Area Manager at Amazon is $174,602 per year. This number represents the median, which is the midpoint of the ranges from our proprietary Total Pay Estimate model and based on salaries collected from our users. The estimated base pay is $90,923 per year.
How long does it take to get to l8 at Google? ›It takes between 12 to 20 years to become a principal engineer at Google. The time it takes largely comes down to your educational background and previous work experience. A principal engineer at Google is considered a level 8 position.
What is an engineer with a PHD called? ›The Doctor of Engineering, or Engineering Doctorate, (abbreviated DEng, EngD, or Dr-Ing) is a degree awarded on the basis of advanced study and a practical project in the engineering and applied science for solving problems in the industry. In the United States, it is a terminal professional doctorate.
Is an engineer 3 a senior engineer? ›A level 3 staff engineer is a mid-level engineer bridging the gap between fresher engineers and top management.
Are engineers middle or upper class? ›Most people in the upper-middle class strata are highly educated white collar professionals such as physicians, dentists, lawyers, accountants, engineers, military officers, economists, urban planners, university professors, architects, stockbrokers, psychologists, scientists, actuaries, optometrists, physical ...
Is L5 at Google a manager? ›At Google, engineers at L5, L6, and L7 are designated as Engineering Managers. The role of Engineering Managers is to oversee large-scale and highly technical projects and ensure they're completed. They are responsible for directing resources, planning, and executing engineering projects.
What is an L6 at Google? ›Levels at Google. ManagerL5. Manager (L6)L6. Senior ManagerL7 Show 4 More Levels.
What is Google L3 salary? ›
$236,128. The estimated total pay for a Software Engineer L3 at Google is $236,128 per year. This number represents the median, which is the midpoint of the ranges from our proprietary Total Pay Estimate model and based on salaries collected from our users. The estimated base pay is $152,386 per year.
How much does an L5 software engineer make? ›The national average salary for a L5 Software Development Engineer is $115,491 per year in United States.
Is E5 senior software engineer? ›The Facebook Senior Software Engineer level (E5 and above) is associated with creating innovative systems, infrastructure, and products that connect billions of people and shape the company's future. As per levels.
Can software engineers retire at 40? ›Early retirement in tech is fairly common; the retirement age for most software engineers is between 45 and 60. However, many senior technologists—especially those who were forced into “early retirement” during the early stages of the pandemic lockdown—are now considering wading back into the labor pool.
How much does a Level 4 software engineer make at Google? ›The estimated total pay for a Software Engineer Level IV at Google is $261,199 per year. This number represents the median, which is the midpoint of the ranges from our proprietary Total Pay Estimate model and based on salaries collected from our users. The estimated base pay is $158,058 per year.
What is the meaning of software engineer 1/2 3? ›A software engineer is a person who applies the principles of software engineering to design, develop, maintain, test, and evaluate computer software. The term programmer is sometimes used as a synonym, but may also lack connotations of engineering education or skills.
What level is SDE 3 at Google? ›Google entry-level software engineer is a designated Level 3 coding engineer with an undergraduate degree in a computer-related field. It is also common for an SWE-II to have a Master's degree.
Who is SDE 2? ›Software Development Engineer are usually at 5 levels, there is SDE I, SDE II, SDE III, Architect, Principal Architect. Its usually the company's policy to keep salary ranges for each of the level separate as well as the bar.
How much does an SDE 3 earn? ›Software Development Engineer III salary in India ranges between ₹ 13.9 Lakhs to ₹ 51.8 Lakhs with an average annual salary of ₹ 26.8 Lakhs. Salary estimates are based on 276 salaries received from Software Development Engineer IIIs.
How do I become SDE 1? ›- Deep expertise in at least one programming language and tech stack.
- Substantial experience in building complex and scalable solutions.
- Be able to conceptualize and develop a prototype quickly.
- Hands on working with databases and other technologies.
- Experience with UNIX/ Linux based environment.
Is SDE 3 senior software engineer? ›
The national average salary for a Senior Software Engineer (SDE3) is ₹29,45,502 in India. Filter by location to see Senior Software Engineer (SDE3) salaries in your area. Salary estimates are based on 111 salaries submitted anonymously to Glassdoor by Senior Software Engineer (SDE3) employees.
How much does L7 at Google make? ›According to levels. fyi, which crowdsources salary data from the biggest tech companies, those Googlers at the L7 level (i.e., senior staff software engineer) can earn an annual salary of up to $270,650 per year, coupled with $406,100 in stock options and a bonus of $81,900.
What does SDE 1 mean? ›An SDE 1 is usually a new and amateur junior engineer and, most of the time, a college hire/fresher. The potential candidates for the SDE 1 role should have a basic knowledge of computers and programming languages and an interest in learning and exploring. The key responsibilities of the SDE 1 position in Amazon are.
How long does it take to go from SDE 2 to SDE 3? ›TL;DR: Most good SDEs who have a decent manager will make SDE 2 sometime in their 3rd year (i.e. in 2–3 years). If you're good enough to be an SDE 3, it will usually take 3–4 extra years, but might take far longer.
What is the salary of Sde 4 in Amazon? ›How much does a Support Engineer IV at Amazon make? The typical Amazon Support Engineer IV salary is ₹16,43,247 per year. Support Engineer IV salaries at Amazon can range from ₹10,24,259 - ₹25,26,301 per year.
How much does SDE 1 at Amazon earn? ›Amazon Salary FAQs
The average salary for a SDE1 is ₹1,309,112 per year in India, which is 21% lower than the average Amazon salary of ₹1,673,441 per year for this job.
The estimated take home salary of a Sde1 at Amazon ranges between ₹ 1,78,024 per month to ₹ 1,84,936 per month in India. The take home salary calculation is based on the average Amazon Sde1 salary in India which is ₹ 28.7 Lakhs per year for employees with less than 1 year of experience to 2 years.
What is Microsoft SDE 1 salary? ›Microsoft Corporation Sde1 salary in India ranges between ₹ 15.3 Lakhs to ₹ 51.0 Lakhs with an average annual salary of ₹ 37.6 Lakhs.
Which SDE company pays highest? ›- Google. ...
- Netflix. ...
- LinkedIn. ...
- Apple. ...
- Uber. ...
- Amazon. ...
- Stripe. ...
- Microsoft. Microsoft is another tiered company, with levels from SDE (entry-level) to 67 at the top.
BASIC QUALIFICATIONS
2+ years of relevant professional software development experience: designing, developing, and delivering software written in Java, C#, or C++, web development. Knowledgeable in object-oriented design patterns.