I always thought it was intended to differentiate “line” engineers (charged with the core work product) from “staff” engineers (focused on advising and supporti

I always thought it was intended to differentiate “line” engineers (charged with the core work product) from “staff” engineers (focused on advising and supporting the org more broadly): https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staff_and_line https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staff_and_line