You’re reading a JD. The title says “Senior Engineer.” Is this actually a senior IC role, or is it a Staff-coded role with a different label? Or a mid-level role at a big-title company?
The title alone won’t tell you. Four implicit signals will.
The four altitude signals
1. Verb shape
The verbs in the responsibilities tell you the work:
| Altitude | Dominant verbs |
|---|---|
| Junior IC | ”Help,” “support,” “assist,” “learn” |
| Mid IC | ”Build,” “implement,” “ship,” “deploy” |
| Senior IC | ”Design,” “own,” “lead the build of,” “drive [technical area]“ |
| Staff/Principal | ”Set the standards,” “define the architecture,” “drive technical direction” |
| Lead / EM | ”Mentor,” “manage,” “grow the team,” “set engineering culture” |
| Director+ | “Set the org strategy,” “align across functions,” “define quarterly goals” |
If the JD is 70%+ verbs from one row, the role is at that altitude. If it’s mixed across two rows, the role is in between.
2. Scope
How many surfaces, products, systems, or teams the role touches:
| Scope | Altitude implication |
|---|---|
| One feature / one squad | Junior to mid IC |
| One product surface end-to-end | Senior IC |
| Multiple surfaces or a sub-portfolio | Staff / Lead / Group PM |
| Full portfolio or org-wide | Director+ |
Read the responsibilities for scope words: “the checkout flow” (one surface), “the payments suite” (multi-surface), “across the company” (org-wide).
3. Team size
Often hidden but extractable:
- “Working with 1–2 engineers and a designer” → IC, in a small pod.
- “Joining a 4-engineer team” → IC in a single-team setup.
- “Working across multiple squads” → senior IC with cross-team scope.
- “Leading a team of 5+” → lead/EM altitude.
Team size signals in job postings catalogs the cues.
4. Reporting chain
The reporting line tells you altitude relative to the company’s hierarchy:
- Reports to a Senior Engineer or Tech Lead → junior to mid IC.
- Reports to an Engineering Manager → mid to senior IC.
- Reports to a Director → senior IC or lead.
- Reports to a VP → staff/principal or director.
- Reports to a CTO/CEO → varies (small company = mid, large company = senior leadership).
Reporting structure clues in job postings decodes more variants.
Composite reading
Read all four signals together. Examples:
Example 1: “Senior Software Engineer” at a Series-B fintech
JD says:
- Verbs: “ship,” “build,” “design,” “own [feature area]” → senior IC verb shape.
- Scope: “you’ll own the payments backend” → one surface.
- Team: “joining a 5-engineer team” → small pod.
- Reports to: “Engineering Manager” → senior IC chain.
Verdict: actually senior IC. Title matches altitude.
Example 2: “Senior Engineer” at a Series-A startup
JD says:
- Verbs: “set the technical direction,” “define the architecture,” “mentor a small team” → Staff/Lead verbs.
- Scope: “across the platform” → multi-surface.
- Team: “5 engineers, growing to 12” → lead-shape team scope.
- Reports to: “CTO” → small-company chain, but the verbs say staff/lead.
Verdict: actually Staff or Lead. Title says Senior. Mismatch — your Senior IC resume might trip the underqualification filter.
Example 3: “Staff Engineer” at FAANG
JD says:
- Verbs: “design and build” + “drive [some areas]” → senior IC + light leadership.
- Scope: “feature area within the team” → one surface.
- Team: implicit (FAANG team sizes are normalized).
- Reports to: “Senior Engineering Manager” → senior IC chain.
Verdict: actually senior IC at FAANG (which is a real Staff role), but maps to Senior at non-FAANG companies. Title says Staff; cross-company maps to Senior.
Why this matters for your application
If you misread altitude:
- Reading too low → you apply down without realizing, your senior resume reads overqualified, you get rejected.
- Reading too high → you apply to a role above your altitude, your bullets read junior, you get rejected.
Both errors are common. The four-signal read prevents both.
Run the altitude check
The diagnostic reads the JD for the four signals and compares them to your resume’s altitude. If they mismatch, the verdict tells you the direction (over or under) and which bullets to reposition.
Two free runs, no card.
Decode the JD altitude — free →
Related reading
- JD level cues — IC vs lead — the IC-vs-lead distinction in detail.
- How to read a JD like a hiring manager — the seven implicit signals pillar.
- Which rung to apply to in tech — the level-targeting framework.
- Is this job below my level? — the pre-application check.