← Canon taxonomy

Compare profiles

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

vs
P6
TECHNI.TECHNICACFA5.P6
Technical Documentation — P6
P5
TECHNI.TECHNICACFA5.P5
Technical Documentation — P5
P4
TECHNI.TECHNICACFA5.P4
Technical Documentation — P4
P3
TECHNI.TECHNICACFA5.P3
Technical Documentation — P3
Market pay$203k ($160k$259k)inherited$150k ($118k$190k)inherited$118k ($93k$151k)inherited$89k ($70k$113k)inherited
LevelP6 · P6 — Principal ProfessionalP5 · P5 — Expert ProfessionalP4 · P4 — Senior ProfessionalP3 · P3 — Mid-Level Professional
FunctionTechnical DocumentationTechnical DocumentationTechnical DocumentationTechnical Documentation
FocusTechnical DocumentationTechnical DocumentationTechnical DocumentationTechnical Documentation
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