How to distinguish between the performance of a strong L5 (senior) vs. an L6 (staff) interview performance? (2024)

FAQs

What is the difference between L5 and L6 engineer? ›

Senior Engineers (L5) build roadmaps of several medium-to-large features that help achieve their team's goals. In this case, the problem and its business impact are clear; we just need an engineer to create a plan to solve it. Staff Engineers (L6) handle more ambiguity.

Average time to promotion from L5-L6 is 3 to 4 years. 1 year is very very unlikely, 2 years is possible but you'll have to be very intentional about your career goals when you start. Titles don't matter and are made up. Managers and senior managers can overlap on levels depending on the org.

L4 - Initiates refactoring and code cleanups. L5 - Identifies areas of improvement, influences the team to take goals on improving it together, then leads the charge on those goals.

The STAR method is a structured manner of responding to a behavioral-based interview question by discussing the specific situation, task, action, and result of the situation you are describing.

“Lagging Promotions” in Big Tech - You need at least 6 months of consistent performance at the next level for promotion. Your Manager's Role - They put together your packet and represent you to the promotion committee. Keep in sync with them about if your performance is L6.

Senior engineer (L5) is the first level that big tech recognizes as a “terminal” level across all companies. This means there is no pressure to continue to grow past this point.

$86,500 is the 25th percentile. Salaries below this are outliers. $142,500 is the 75th percentile.

> I'll clue you in on a dirty little secret: it's hard to get promoted to L6 for anything. It's hard if you're on the wrong project (read: low impact and/or low visibility). There are different routes to L6 at Google, but by far the most successful was to become TLM or just M of a medium impact project.

What is the Google product manager salary at L6? The Google product manager salary differs as per the levels and cities you work at. An L6 Product Manager 3 at Google earns a total annual compensation of $495k, including a base salary of $212k, stocks worth $238k, and a $46k bonus.

Finally, we can summarise the following things about a Senior Software Engineer (L5) at Google: 6-9 years of experience in the industry. Internally at Google, this is the level at which the majority of engineers are. You'll be expected to work independently with little supervision and complete challenging assignments.

How long does it take to become L5 at Google? ›

Here is a quick breakdown of the levels based on years of experience: L3 – Very little experience, from fresh out of college to up to 3 years. L4 – 3-10 years experience or completed PhD program. L5 – 5-10+ years experience in a relevant position.

Level 7 – Senior Software Engineer Senior software engineers at this level bear the duties of a Level 6 software engineer and are deemed equivalent to senior supervisors. They possess 10+ years of experience and have higher involvement in the L6 to get promoted to L7.

Struggling with time management. Managing missed deadlines. Not being able to prioritize multiple tasks at a time. Delaying tasks unnecessarily.

There are a number of different types of interview questions. The most common 3 types of questions that are generally asked are - Open-ended, Behavioural and Situational.

L5 Engineer: Staff Engineer / Principal Engineer

L5 Engineer Experience: Varies, but typically 8+ years. L5 Engineer Responsibilities: Make critical decisions on architecture, design, and technology choices. Act as a technical beacon for the organization. L5 Engineer Skills: Recognized expertise in one or more domains.

L5: Senior Software Engineer. L6: Staff Software Engineer. L7: Principal Software Engineer.

The main difference between level 5 and level 6 at Amazon is the level of experience and responsibility. Level 5 is typically for engineers with 3-10 years of experience, while level 6 is for engineers with 8-10+ years of experience. Level 6 engineers are also expected to have more leadership and management experience.