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Individual contributor, technical lead, or people manager?

3,315 postings · 1,380 companies

Postings read on

Published · Updated

Stated in the posting

1,700 of 3,315 postings (51.3%) are individual contributor roles.

The role type stated in the posting. Technical lead means leading work without people management.

Our reading of the posting

2,526 of 3,315 postings (76.2%) are read as senior roles.

Our reading of the responsibilities in each posting, not the employer’s title. Junior means guided work, mid means independent delivery, senior means leading an ambiguous project through production, and staff+ means leading across teams or projects.

  • A technical lead role leads technical work, and that does not by itself mean hiring, reviews or direct reports.
  • A people-manager posting states responsibility for managing people, without telling you the team size or the coding balance.
  • A "lead" title can describe technical ownership alone, and a manager title can still include substantial delivery work.
  • Ask who reports to the role and whether it carries a budget and reviews, because a title says neither.
  • Browse individual contributor roles, technical lead roles and people manager roles.

Check the title against the responsibilities

A posting's work and reporting expectations are more useful than its title. For a technical lead role, ask who makes the final technical decision and how the role works with product, sales and customer teams. For a manager role, ask how much of the week is delivery.

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