4 ms·
VP Engineering/Director of Engineering/CTO are all essentially the same role.
by JohnWhigham 5y ago
VP Engineering/Director of Engineering/CTO are all essentially the same role.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- barrkel 5y agoThey're not. VP Eng is a management role whereas CTO has an expectation of technical leadership or strategy. VP Eng has a focus on operations, the processes and mechanics of the engineering organization, whereas the CTO has a focus on the future technical path of the org.
- TheCoelacanth 5y agoNot at all. CTO is primarily a management role as well.
- barrkel 5y agoDon't really agree. In a startup, CTO is often the most technical co-founder and may be a manager, may manage VP Eng, but the role is not well defined; it's whatever the technical co-founder feels most adept at. Later on, the situation may be inverted, i.e. CTO might report to VP Eng. Usually, VP Eng reports to CEO. The point is that operational management of engineering usually flows from VP Eng, and not very often from the CTO. If the CTO does manage, it's a small shrub on the larger org tree.