My impression is that Staff and Principal are basically a different make-up on what Architect used to be. A bit less ivory tower dictators but still working in

My impression is that Staff and Principal are basically a different make-up on what Architect used to be. A bit less ivory tower dictators but still working in the role of overviewing larger systems, coming up with novel solutions (usually proof of concepts later developed into production by other teams), bridging technical gaps, and dictating broader guidelines on how the larger system should behave. Just an iteration on the Architect role to be a bit more hands-on.