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Top comments (52)
Obligatory legalize disclaimer: These words are mine and not Amazon's.
Software Development Engineer II
I'm not exactly sure why it's not just "Software Engineer" but at a company as large as Amazon, there are other roles that would have a lot of "Software" and "Engineer"; so "Software Development Engineer" (aka SDE) is what most would just call a "software engineer". We usually just shorthand it to "dev".
The "II" indicates a bit more of a "senior" status (though "Senior" is reserved for a much higher level).
Differences between a SDE I and SDE II roles are many, but at a high level it means dealing with more ambiguity and responsibility. An SDE I focuses on tasks and projects; an SDE II focuses on that and long-term sustainability, interacting with other teams, project design, etc. I'm to be a team leader and set the example. It's expected that I can resolve any tech ops issues and answer any senior staff's questions.
None of this is to say that an SDE I doesn't do any of that too. It's just what's the default expectation.
I was promoted to II after 2 years at Amazon, which is pretty typical. I'm shooting for III in 3 years from now or so; again, pretty typical.
All that said, there's no "level" posturing in day to day stuff. Saying "Not my job" is verboten.
Officially, "Lead Developer" because my boss gave it to me.
Usually, if anyone asks me, I say either "developer" or "web developer." Any distinction beyond that (e.g. junior, senior, etc.) is highly subjective, so I tend to avoid them.
I've never really cared for titles though. :)
I'm a programmer, and I'm proud of that title. It bests describes what I do.
For resume purposes I get seniority pleasing titles attached to many of my positions. Things like Lead, Senior, and even Director seem to be appealing.
I'm an "Associate Software Engineer". As far as I know, it's totally arbitrary. I had to check our directory to confirm it. 🙃 To me it means junior-ish developer, and I believe that's what the intention is, too.
It sounds great to me, but I also don't really have a stake in my title. We're also a small team and I'm sure amongst us, it doesn't really matter. I'm guessing titles matter in bigger companies that have a larger organization structure.
I would like to call myself an Android Engineer, but I am currently undergoing training, as I am self-taught.And it is my title because I decided to jump over to mobile development. I was previously a C# Software Developer.
I am really trying to stay away from the terms "junior, intermediate, and senior". I feel like they have a bad effect on self-esteem.
Data Scientist
Why is this my job title?
Well 'Mathemagician' is basically what people think I am. While Statistician is too difficult for most people to tolerate (oh no! mathematics!) as a job title and doesn't cover the massive amount of software development I do.
'Data Scientist' is basically a generic standin for any individual that possesses a combination of statistics and software development skills. The diversity of applicants range from people with simple R/Python skills to those who can build a complex analytical pipelines. Both of these groups are valuable.
I was the first data scientist at a multinational corporation a few years ago. This was a company that should have had a whole unit staffed with 'Data Scientists' but didn't. As a result, I wrote the competence profile and hiring guidelines for all the future me-s in the enterprise to make sure we aim more for the complex analytical and development competences. I coupled this with training programs to bring more analysts with the prerequisite statistical knowledge into the software development side of the work.
Downsides of the title is there is no real discrimination based on competence, and really no advancement potential unless you're willing to go into management.
Sounds more like "Data Engineer" than "Data Scientist", no? I'm still trying to get around the terminology of analyst, scientist, engineer, etc.
I'm more scientist than engineer as my background is statistics not computer engineering. Data Engineers tend to be more focused on pipelines and data structures than uncertainty and estimation. Yes, I've had to do both, but that is because the field was largely seeking unicorns the last decade, so I learned.
Now that you can get funding to hire more people, the specialization is kicking in and the tasks are diverging. That said, I still prefer Data Scientists who understand data structures and pipelines otherwise they need assistance in most steps.
Director of Technology, because "Director" is the title you get at my org when you manage a department and "Technology" because well... Technology.
I like to refer to myself as the Director of Tech-sploration! But I haven't been able to convince them to put that on my card yet.
“Digital Developer” because I fought to get a promotion and leave my old title of “Jr. Digital Developer” ;)
At the agency I work at, devs go by "Digital" developer versus "Frontend"/"Web"/"Backend" mostly because most of us work across the stack, and even into traditional DevOps and/or Database admin territory.
I'm really put off by he use of "digital" in titles. Everything we do with computers is digital at some point, so I'd rather take the word back and use it exclusively for people who make things with their fingers.
I don't mind it. But when you think about it, we still do make things with our fingers ;)
Director of Emerging Technology
A emerging technology team was formed and I was placed at its head under the CIO because I'm good at solving problems, tackling new things, prototyping and creating proof of concepts quickly. I am thoroughly excited by challenging unknowns and leading other developers down the same path.
My favorite job title of all time? Geek in Charge. How dope was that? :)
N/A
Because dev jobs around here are as scarce as unicorns! Also because remote teams won't trust juniors to be able to control themselves and deliver as if they were in place, for some reason.
Don't get me started on relocating.
I'm freelancing, right now. So, I guess "Mercenary Developer" suits me better.
Until last week it was data architect: I was responsible for envisioning how applications would store and use information, designing schemas and pipelines, and implementing data access layers. It was only one of the hats I actually wore (I did regular application development, managed builds and deployments, and ran process on the side), but it was the one I was most interested in.
Now I'm a site reliability engineer, which appears to be the hot new thing as people come to grips with development and operations having more to do with each other than not. The company is focused on data so I'm still going to get to do that, but with more of a focus on scale and infrastructure.
Overall, titles don't matter unless they reflect specialization.
Oh, I've got something no one else mentioned here before. :) I'm Principal Software Engineer. I guess because nowadays everyone is Senior Software Engineer, even fresh after university, and there should be some way to distinguish those, who are "really senior". :)
Reading this thread made me think I should just start calling myself "rhymes, the fixer". Need a web app? A trip to Hawaii? Call rhymes at 1-800-F-I-X-E-R :D
Lol
Front-end engineer. This is the title in my contract, so this is what I display on LinkedIn. I don't like the engineer part because although I have a CS degree, I do not have an engineering degree. I'm literally not an engineer. So usually I just tell people I'm just a dev or web developer.
Having said that, that's my title because I work on the front-end of our product (React/Redux, TypeScript, HTML/CSS), but we also do node on the back end for some things (small rest APIs). I'm also starting to become familiar with Docker/K8s. Maybe I shoud become a "digital developer" like Geoff.
“Digital Developer” because I fought to get a promotion and leave my old title of “Jr. Digital Developer” ;)
At the agency I work at, devs go by "Digital" developer versus "Frontend"/"Web"/"Backend" mostly because most of us work across the stack, and even into traditional DevOps and/or Database admin territory.
CTO
I'm CTO because I was hired to turn a service-based company into a tech company. I make every decision when it comes to development but also security and tool usage. I don't normally care about titles in a company with less than 50 employees but currently it allows me the freedom to define what "CTO" actually means and that's pretty rad.