Recap

• Level is the operating system of your job: scope, autonomy, ambiguity, influence.
• IC and EM are parallel tracks; choose your energy source.
• Rough map: L3 (entry), L4 (mid), L5 (senior), L6 (staff), L7 (principal+).
• Post-offer, negotiate level and scope first; comp follows.
• Use rubrics, evidence, and artifacts to calibrate across companies.
• Optimize for environments where your next level is a predictable consequence of the work you’re already doing.

Pick the level that lets you do the best work of your life—and puts you in rooms where that work gets multiplied.