What Senior Actually Means
The scope, ownership, and judgement a title implies — and what an interviewer is listening for.
5 topics
Senior vs Staff Scope
Levels are defined by the size of the problem you can be handed, not by years served or code written.
core20 minOwnership, End to End
Owning something means you're accountable for whether it works in production, not for whether your part of it merged.
core18 minInfluence Without Authority
Getting a decision adopted when you can't mandate it is the skill the senior title is actually granted for.
core20 minJudgement Under Uncertainty
Seniority shows up as the quality of your defaults when there isn't enough information to be sure.
core20 minWhat the Interviewer Is Scoring
Behavioural rounds are graded against a short list of signals, and knowing the list changes which details you include.
core18 min