Except when you get to a high level. Then, the powers-that-be have plans for you, and you can't really refuse (e.g. how do you refuse the CTO who says "I need y

Except when you get to a high level. Then, the powers-that-be have plans for you, and you can't really refuse (e.g. how do you refuse the CTO who says "I need you on this critical project?"). And there really aren't that many teams that can take you even if they wished to. What OP _might_ be able to do is "invent" his own project. If he has something that he believes is (longer-term) for the company good, he probably can say "I'm just going to do this" instead of quitting. What are they going to do, fire him? If he was planning to leave anyway, it's not really a problem.... and one finds out that managers are not so eager to fire good engineers. He might take a hit in compensation though (bonuses/raises) especially if his plans don't pan out.