Are you a software engineer making progress in your career? If so, you may have come across the terms Staff and Senior Software Engineer. But what exactly are they, and how do they differ from one another?
In this article, we’ll be exploring the differences between Staff and Senior Software Engineer positions. We’ll look at their roles, responsibilities, experience requirements, and salaries. So if you’re wondering about what sets staff engineers apart from senior engineers, read on and find out more about these two very different positions.
What Is a Senior Software Engineer?
Senior Software Engineer is an individual who possesses an extensive knowledge of particular systems and features which enable these professionals to take charge of the software development process.
As a Senior Software Engineer, you will typically have a clear understanding of a particular feature or system and work on the completion of a particular project or two. You will analyze workflows and procedures to design solutions that satisfy user expectations.
Overseeing one or two teams’ progress, your duties are often similar but more specified than those of staff engineers. Thus, as a senior engineer, you hold responsibility for successful project completion within your particular development team.
Upon reaching Senior Engineer status, one should ascertain themselves as the leader and owner of a particular system or feature, with a comprehensive understanding of it.
On the technical side, they must be able to design projects of grand scale while remaining productive, discover pre-existing issues without being told, and provide solutions in return.
They should also be able to take charge of leading small teams by hosting weekly meetings and communicating effectively in written forms too.
From the soft skills perspective, Senior Software Engineers should be able to contribute to the engineering team with activities such as interviewing and mentoring and have the capability to provide specific and actionable feedback to colleagues.
What Is a Staff Software Engineer?
A Staff Software Engineer is a role that is more advanced than that of a Senior Software Engineer. Staff Software Engineers take charge of propelling their organization as a whole and working on multiple projects across several development teams.
These individuals have a wide range of responsibilities that go far beyond simply coding and debugging. They are expected to take ownership of a project from start to finish, providing the necessary direction and guidance to less senior personnel to ensure successful completion.
In addition to their technical know-how, Staff Software Engineers must have strong leadership skills in order to manage development teams and mentor junior software engineers. They should also be well-versed in project management and possess strong communication skills to facilitate efficient collaboration within their organizations.
Every engineering team typically has 1–2 staff-level engineers, also often considered to be Tech Lead, who co-owns the success of their group with its engineering manager.
The primary distinction between a staff engineer and other engineers is their ability to detect and address technical issues that the average person would be unable to solve.
Staff Engineers should possess the ability to:
- Execute even the most complex aspects of a system/product.
- Create high-caliber work with best practices, such as testing, organized launches, and monitoring.
- Lead in setting a strategic path for the team and anticipating new season roadmapping needs.
- Identify major pain points within systems/products/organizations and devise solutions that have clear objectives, milestones, and timelines that may span multiple years.
Senior vs. Staff Software Engineer: Responsibilities
Responsibilities of Senior and Staff Software Engineers can vary significantly based on the organization, but generally speaking, a Senior Software Engineer will typically have responsibilities to manage their team’s activities and devise creative solutions. They may mentor junior software developers but are not typically involved in making decisions that affect the company as a whole.
The role of a Staff Engineer is to collaborate with Principal Engineers, who are esteemed members in the engineering community, and provide direction for various sections across the engineering department, as opposed to a single team. They may also research upcoming innovations in their field and prescribe how to introduce them into practice.
Primarily, Staff Software Engineers differ from Senior Engineers based on responsibilities that involve:
- Leading high-impact organization-wide engineering projects.
- Being known as a leader across the organization and not only in your team.
- Mentoring other engineers across the company.
- Expressing autonomy in handling very complex technical and political issues.
- Being a point of authority among senior leadership and looked up to for advice and feedback.
Besides these, Senior Engineers usually take charge of a single project or division and are often obliged to collaborate with experts from other departments when the circumstance calls for it. Conversely, Staff Engineers manage more extensive pools of engineers throughout several projects or labs. They may also be responsible for resource allotment and welcoming new engineers as they join the team.
Senior vs. Staff Software Engineer: Years of Experience
Staff Software Engineers also differ from Senior Software Engineers based on the extent of their experience. As such, Staff Software Engineers are expected to have more years of experience than Senior Engineers.
To be a successful applicant for the Staff Engineer position, employers typically expect you to have obtained 8-15 years of applicable work experience and occasionally possess a postgraduate degree.
As for the Senior Engineer role, usually, 6+ years in an industry coupled with the attainment of a university degree are sufficient.
Senior vs. Staff Software Engineer: Salary
The salary and compensation of Senior and Staff Software Engineers can vary significantly depending on the size, culture, and location of a given organization.
In fact, Staff Engineer at some companies (startups and smaller companies) may be considered the same level of seniority and value as a Senior Engineer at another (think FAANG).
As of now, PayScale estimates a mean annual salary of $123,624 for Senior Software Engineers. On the other hand, Staff Software Engineers earn an average of $150,071 per year.
Compensation of software engineers at Big Tech companies, however, is known to be much higher than that. To give you an idea, Google offers a total of $357,993 in compensation for its Senior Software Engineers and $530,704 to Staff Software Engineers.
Similarly, Senior Software Engineers at Facebook/Meta earn $328,050 per year, while Staff Engineers earn $487,029, according to Levels.fyi.
It is indeed true that as you rise to senior and staff levels at FAANG companies, you get to earn such a considerable amount of money that it allows you to even become a millionaire!
Who Do Staff vs. Senior Software Engineers Report to?
As they carry out distinct tasks, Staff and Senior engineers usually answer to different superiors within the organization.
Staff Engineers work in close collaboration with and are accountable to Principal Engineers, who are typically the highest-ranking professional in their team. They may also answer directly to a Director of Engineering or another technical executive within the company.
Senior Engineers provide reports to technical leads or Engineering Managers, who in turn communicate the department’s progress to business executives and directors. Sometimes, Senior Software Engineers will report to Staff Engineers directly.
Other Titles in Software Engineering
What are the other titles commonly seen in tech companies and how does the overall hierarchy of engineers look? Below is the list of software engineer titles in the order of seniority, from inferior to superior ranks.
- Software Engineer Intern
- Associate Software Engineer
- Software Engineer
- Senior Software Engineer
- Staff Software Engineer
- Senior Staff Software Engineer
- Principal Software Engineer
- Distinguished Software Engineer
- Fellow Software Engineer
As you may see, software engineering is an ever-growing and rapidly changing field. Companies are continuously looking for talented engineers to join their teams, so there will always be room for growth and development in this industry.
The roles listed above are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to software engineering, so if you have the skills and enthusiasm, don’t hesitate to add your name to the list!
Conclusion
In conclusion, Staff and Senior Software Engineers are both important roles in a company’s engineering team. The main difference between the two is that Staff Engineers tend to have more experience than Senior Engineers and take on responsibilities on the organizational level, rather than just their team’s.
These differences in experience and scope of duties impact the salaries of the two engineering titles as well, with Staff Engineers earning higher salaries than Senior Engineers. Senior Engineers and Staff Engineers also report to different authorities within the organization with Staff Engineers being closer to the executive team.
No matter your role in the software engineering hierarchy, you can always strive for further career growth and take advantage of new opportunities as they arise. With hard work and dedication, a Software Engineer’s journey may lead to some truly remarkable accomplishments!
Elmar Mammadov is a software developer, tech startup founder, and computer science career specialist. He is the founder of CS Careerline and a true career changer who has previously pursued careers in medicine and neuroscience.
Due to his interest in programming and years of past personal experience in coding, he decided to break into the tech industry by attending a Master’s in Computer Science for career changers at University of Pennsylvania. Elmar passionately writes and coaches about breaking into the tech industry and computer science in general.