My advice? Engineering is a broad industry that can be broken down into many more specific fields, such as mechanical, electrical, civil, chemical, nuclear, and aerospace. #_form_7_ ._error-inner { padding:8px 12px; background-color:#f37c7b; font-size:14px; font-family:arial, sans-serif; color:#fff; text-align:center; text-decoration:none; -webkit-border-radius:4px; -moz-border-radius:4px; border-radius:4px; } Principal and senior engineers are both roles requiring an engineer to have many years of experience and extensive knowledge in their field. #_form_7_ ._form_element._clear { clear:both; width:100%; float:none; } This role has an honorific status, given in recognition of outstanding technical achievement, and is just one step away from the ultimate title of fellow. #_form_7_._inline-style input[type="text"],#_form_7_._inline-style input[type="date"] { padding:15px 12px; font-size: 20px;} But they exist to guide the technical direction of the company. They all have similar levels, which are organized in bands: - Level 59-60: PM/SDE/SDET. #_form_7_ ._error-html { margin-bottom:10px; } Recently I messaged on LinkedIn a maintainer who was not responding to Issues, and got a reply which resolved a transitive dependency with security vulnerabilities. They typically have over five years of experience in their engineering niche and have a minimum of a bachelor's degree. Create courses on Pluralsight, Udemy, etc. There are many duties that principal engineers are typically responsible for, including: Engineers almost always specialize in one area of the industry, which means that there are principal engineers in every field of engineering. #_form_7_ ._form-thank-you { position:relative; left:0; right:0; font-size:18px; } #_form_7_ ._submit { -webkit-appearance:none; cursor:pointer; font-size:20px; text-align:center; background:#0a0a44 !important; border:0 !important; color:#fff !important; padding:15px 20px !important; } Distinguished Engineers provide the voice of technical developers and operations among executive managers. Ranks from lowest to highest are: It depends on the company. Think of the people who develop "concept cars". Six or more years of relevant work experience. The only way to know for sure is to get a job description (list of responsibilities, expected skills) for each position. [CDATA[/* >