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So then would the true top "Engineering" role just be lead dev? This is the role I am more interested in. Having to keep up with the state of the field to me as

So then would the true top "Engineering" role just be lead dev? This is the role I am more interested in. Having to keep up with the state of the field to me as an engineer/CS is A: more fun, and B: more rewarding. If anything this blog post (along with others) just keeps confirming that CTO is something I never want to be. Edit: I should also mention that it is practice at my current company that our leads basically are the ones that consider the balance of implementation details and whether we do rewrites vs. staged refactoring. Not the CTO. This definitely seems like more of an engineering call.

ThrustVectoring 10y ago
Even if you don't want to be a CTO, you're better off knowing what the CTO role does. Part of how the World War 2 era German military worked was the idea that subordinates would understand how to do the job of people two levels above him, so that he could understand the intent of the orders he received and carry that out rather than the letter. If you also want to have high levels of autonomy, you need similar abilities.
- CorvusCrypto 10y ago
  Irrelevant to what I asked. I understand the role. And I can safely say I don't want it. What is the top engineering role?
  - dejv 10y ago
    Lead developer, architect, senior developer, fellow... it depends on company. It could be also CTO in some cases.
nowarninglabel 10y ago
This depends a bit on if there is a VP of Engineering in the company. If so, then the CTO can operate more as a "engineering" role and still spend some time in the code. If the CTO is both managing the people in engineering and setting the roadmap for the technology then the "Distinguished Engineer" is usually the top technical role. Titles vary so much company to company though that there's not a one-size-fits-all answer.
- CorvusCrypto 10y ago
  yeah this I believe. I kind of figured the role would be widely-varying, but kind of hoped not. It's hard to know what to strive for when it's different at every company haha.

ThrustVectoring 10y ago

Even if you don't want to be a CTO, you're better off knowing what the CTO role does. Part of how the World War 2 era German military worked was the idea that subordinates would understand how to do the job of people two levels above him, so that he could understand the intent of the orders he received and carry that out rather than the letter. If you also want to have high levels of autonomy, you need similar abilities.

CorvusCrypto 10y ago
Irrelevant to what I asked. I understand the role. And I can safely say I don't want it. What is the top engineering role?
- dejv 10y ago
  Lead developer, architect, senior developer, fellow... it depends on company. It could be also CTO in some cases.

nowarninglabel 10y ago

This depends a bit on if there is a VP of Engineering in the company. If so, then the CTO can operate more as a "engineering" role and still spend some time in the code. If the CTO is both managing the people in engineering and setting the roadmap for the technology then the "Distinguished Engineer" is usually the top technical role. Titles vary so much company to company though that there's not a one-size-fits-all answer.

CorvusCrypto 10y ago
yeah this I believe. I kind of figured the role would be widely-varying, but kind of hoped not. It's hard to know what to strive for when it's different at every company haha.