Senior engineers at Google

Why don’t engineers make it further than being senior engineers at Google? Is it because not many stay longer than 5-6 years and leave for other companies or startups? What level of engineer would you be if you stayed at Google for 10 years?

Bruce R. Miller · Updated August 9, 2015 Former Staff Engineer at Google (company) (2011–2019)

Originally Answered: Why is it that not many engineers make it past senior engineers at Google? Is it because that not many stay longer than 5 or 6 years and leave for other companies or startups? And if not what level of engineers would you be if you stayed at Google for like 10 years and not leave after like 5?

I am a staff engineer at Google, one level above Senior Engineer.

1. In the three years that I have been at Google, I have only seen a single person leave. Plenty of people move between teams, and I saw two move to Google.org

, but only a single person left Google, of the people that I worked with. Someone once reported that most people at Google have only been there a few years, but that’s because Google has been hiring a lot in recent years. With so many new people coming on board, that means that the average time at Google is low. Some people incorrectly took that to mean that people only stayed at Google for a short amount of time.

1. Your engineering level has nothing to do with how long you are at Google. If you are hired at level 2 and you perform at level 6, then within a year or two you will be promoted to level 6. (Double promotions can happen.) If you have been at Google for 10 years and you are still performing at level 5, then you will stay at level 5. You don’t get promoted just for being around a long time.

2. The engineering levels get exponentially harder. The higher you go, the more impact you have to have on the company. You have to put yourself out there, take risks, and be judged by many of your peers. Some people are not cut out for that. They might be really smart, but lack the personality required.

3. Level 5, Senior Engineer, is the highest level that Google expects you to get to. T5 means that you independently control a single project. If you are not T5, Google encourages you to advance to T5. If you have been at Google a long time and you are not T5, then Google is going to start asking why you are not reaching the level where you independently handle your own projects. After you reach T5, you are not expected to move on, though you have plenty of opportunity to do so.

Going beyond T5 takes significant effort on the part of the engineer. It is not part of the normal promotion process. That’s probably why T5 is called “Senior Engineer”.

That being said, I have a hard time imagining someone being at Google for 10 years and not being T6. T6 means you contribute to many projects and help to get things going in general. Then again, everyone has their limits for how important their job is to them. Many people are very comfortable at T5, which pays very well. T6 is not that hard to get to, especially if you have a lot of general experience. T6 to T7 (Senior Staff) is a bigger jump and requires that you have accomplished some pretty significant things. I would really consider T6 to be the place where most people stop.