In my limited experience, in tech companies, they tend to work just above project managers and shape product development and direction, by interacting with clie

In my limited experience, in tech companies, they tend to work just above project managers and shape product development and direction, by interacting with clients and the industry at large. But this is still a rather vague idea of what they actually do all day. Isn't that like most developers' impressions of managerial jobs?