We are organized into 7️⃣ levels with a defined Individual Contributor (IC) and Manager (MN) track. Advancing in your career doesn’t have to mean giving up on your craft, and as much as we need exceptional managers, we also need exceptional individual contributors.
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| Level | Individual Contributor (IC) | Manager (MN) |
|---|---|---|
| IC1 | Developing individual contributor: Early experience, a supporting-level player who is honing their craft. Note this is NOT entry level. | |
| IC2 | Mid-level individual contributor: Operating standardised processes well. Some project management and strategic work. | |
| IC3/MN3 | Senior individual contributor: Managing or operating complex process/s, or complex projects within a function. Very experienced and an extremely competent contributor. | **Lead:**New or developing people manager of one team |
| IC4/MN4 | Staff-level individual contributor: A leading performer who prefers to manage projects over people. Competently managing a process or parts of a function. May have cross-team/functional responsibilities. | Manager: Experienced, effective leader of a complex team or multiple teams |
| IC5/MN5 | **Principal level / expert individual contributor:**Strategically planning and ****managing a process or parts of a function. Thinks holistically and strategically across the company.Indispensable individual contributor | Director: A consistent and successful leader, building, motivating and developing one department at an overarching level. Thinks holistically and strategically across the company. Invests time to the professional development of others. |
| MN6 | VP: Seasoned leader providing consistent and exceptional level of strategic and people leadership across one or more departments and across Dune. Thinks holistically and strategically across the company. Invests time to the professional development of others. | |
| MN7 | Chief: Responsible for making the key strategic decisions that affect the business as a whole. Help to influence and shape vision and strategy, and is responsible for helping the company to deliver on core goals. Makes high-stakes decisions and ensure day-to-day operations align with fulfilling the company’s mission, vision, strategy and values. Are at the head of their particular area or department within the business. |
🧢 “Tech Lead” is a ‘hat’ you can wear for a specific team or project.
Tech leads are engineers with leadership responsibility over areas of our tech stack or projects. They make critical decisions about our architecture and mentor other engineers. They typically don’t manage people.
This hat isn’t restricted to any particular level - any engineer can be a tech lead, and teams could have multiple tech lead roles if it makes sense.
To be clear on the distinction:
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Lead engineering teams, manage engineers, and focus primarily on building a healthy and happy team that ships quality code frequently.
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Are engineers with leadership responsibility over areas of our tech stack or projects. They make critical decisions about our architecture and mentor other engineers. They typically don’t manage people.
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