I used to think that I wouldn't mind working a company where "everyone" was Member of Technical Staff (a la Bell Labs). Then I noticed that the people who deci

I used to think that I wouldn't mind working a company where "everyone" was Member of Technical Staff (a la Bell Labs). Then I noticed that the people who decided that everyone would have egalitarian titles... still had grandiose titles for themselves. So, the next time I'm discussing what engineering title system a startup should have as it grows, I'm probably going to suggest something that the early hires will be happy to have on their LinkedIn, and I'd guess that will probably look fairly conventional. (Also, Google could get away with downleveling people only because they paid a lot better, and everyone knew it. So, unless you're paying like Google, good luck telling hiring candidates that you think they were overrated in their most recent role, and you want to put them in their proper, lower place.)