Where I work there is a career path for technical people, but it tops out at the "Senior Staff" level. Now, as far as the role goes, you can be an individual co

Where I work there is a career path for technical people, but it tops out at the "Senior Staff" level. Now, as far as the role goes, you can be an individual contributor up to a point before becoming a "manager". You can lead a team from a technical standpoint without being a "manager". Those are what we call Technical Leads, Software Architects, and Chief Engineers. My suggestion would be to ask (or even take) on a leadership role. Fake it til you make it, and put the results in your annual performance review. Write it up really well, and make sure you show results and not just state what you did. Show that your leadership adds value. You do not need a formal leadership role to do this. Mentoring is a quick way to put a notch in your leadership role, especially in your position and level of expertise. Share best practices with some junior engineers, and help them learn, grow. You can also take on tasks outside of the office to build a proof of concept or the like that saves the company money or adds value. I have a mentor who became a senior manager after developing what became our enterprise email infrastructure during off hours with a small team of colleagues. He's now a CIO of a large part sector of the company. A third idea, and we love this one where I work, is community leadership. Whether its helping out at a local non-profit, or spearheading a one time event for a holiday food bank, these are great opportunities to demonstrate leadership. (They're also a good idea in general, and great karma!) That said, I am right there with you. I spent 4 years working in software development outside my current company, another 2 years at the company, and just now entered a leadership development program. There is a tremendous amount of soft skill development involved in the program I am in, and it really does help (even if it frustrates me at times).