In my experience, sometime's SDE Manager == Distinguished Engineer. That said - the few DE's I've gotten to work that I most appreciated were particularly inva

In my experience, sometime's SDE Manager == Distinguished Engineer. That said - the few DE's I've gotten to work that I most appreciated were particularly invasive when dealing with management. That is, they would weigh in and use their influence to ensure the team wasn't pulled in too many directions. Sometimes this occurred even when they weren't explicitly asked. Your most experienced engineers can be a good reminder for management that they're asking too much whether it's breadth or depth.