← Canon taxonomy

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Side-by-side leveling, scope, and market pay. Add up to four via ?keys=SWE.GEN.P5,SWE.GEN.P6.

vs
P6
PRODUC5.PRODUCTD13D0.P6
Product Designer — P6
P5
PRODUC5.PRODUCTD13D0.P5
Product Designer — P5
P4
PRODUC5.PRODUCTD13D0.P4
Product Designer — P4
P3
PRODUC5.PRODUCTD13D0.P3
Product Designer — P3
Market pay$177k ($139k$225k)inherited$130k ($102k$166k)inherited$103k ($81k$131k)inherited$78k ($61k$99k)inherited
LevelP6 · P6 — Principal ProfessionalP5 · P5 — Expert ProfessionalP4 · P4 — Senior ProfessionalP3 · P3 — Mid-Level Professional
FunctionProduct DesignerProduct DesignerProduct DesignerProduct Designer
FocusProduct DesignerProduct DesignerProduct DesignerProduct Designer
Typical years12–188–125–83–5
ScopeOrganization-wide architecture and the hardest problemsMultiple systems or a technical domainA system or set of related featuresFeatures or a sub-system end-to-end
AutonomyDefines direction; minimal oversightSets direction within the domainSelf-directed; reviewed at critical decision pointsWorks independently on standard work; reviewed on the non-standard
ImpactOrganization-wideOrg / multi-team outcomesMulti-team / function outcomesProject / team outcomes
Decision rightsSets technical strategy for a major areaAuthority over a technical domainOwns technical decisions for a system; influences adjacent designOwns implementation decisions for own scope