What is a job title hierarchy?
A job title hierarchy is the ordered list of job titles in a team or company, from the entry-level title at the bottom to the most senior title at the top.
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In short
A job title hierarchy puts job titles in order, such as junior, mid, senior, lead and principal, then manager, director and executive. Each step up usually means more scope and independence. Titles are only labels, so the same title can mean different things at different companies. Compare the scope behind a title, not the word.
What a job title hierarchy shows
It answers two plain questions: which title sits above which, and what usually changes at each step. Moving up a step normally means a wider scope of work, less guidance and more impact on the team or the company.
People search for it as “job titles by level” or “job title levels”. It is the same thing: the titles for one line of work, listed from the lowest level to the highest.
The common tiers of job titles
Typical naming, not a rule for any one company.
- C-level (CEO, CFO, CTO, COO)
- Executive Vice President (EVP)
- Senior Vice President (SVP)
- Vice President (VP)
- Assistant Vice President (AVP)
- Director / Head of
- Senior Manager
- Manager / Team Lead
- Senior
- Mid level
- Junior, Associate, Assistant or Coordinator
- Intern or Trainee
On the individual contributor track, Lead, Staff and Principal sit above Senior, at about the same step as Manager to Director.
Individual contributor and manager tracks
Many companies run two tracks side by side. The individual contributor track keeps people doing the craft at a higher and higher level. The manager track moves people into leading others.
Both can reach a similar seniority. A Principal on the first track and a Director on the second may be at about the same step, with different jobs. Writing both down lets people grow without having to manage.
Read: What is a career ladder?
Example job title ladders by department
These are the titles used in the free Competrace library, one ladder per department. They are examples, not a standard that every company follows.
Software engineering: Junior Software Engineer, Mid Software Engineer, Senior Software Engineer, Lead Software Engineer, Principal Software Engineer. The table below shows what each one expects.
Human resources: HR Coordinator, HR Generalist, HR Business Partner, HR Manager, Head of People.
Sales: Sales Development Representative, Account Executive, Senior Account Executive, Sales Team Lead, Head of Sales.
Content and SEO: Content Executive, Content Marketing Specialist, Content Strategist, Content Marketing Manager, Head of Content.
Project management: Project Coordinator, Project Manager, Senior Project Manager, Program Manager, Head of PMO.
Why the same title means different things
A title is chosen by each company, so there is no shared meaning. A Senior at a small company may have the scope of a Lead at a large one. A Manager may lead a team of people, or may manage no one.
Lead is a good example. In one company it is a step above Senior, and in another it is a role for the person who guides a project, at the same step as Senior.
So compare the scope behind the title: how much guidance the person needs, how far their work reaches and which decisions they own. The title alone cannot tell you.
How to build a job title hierarchy for your team in 5 steps
List the titles you use today
Write down every title in one team, including the odd ones, and who holds each.
Order them by scope
Put the narrowest scope at the bottom and the widest at the top, whatever the title says today.
Keep the number of steps small
Use as many titles as you can tell apart in writing. Five is a common size for one department.
Split the tracks
Decide at which title the manager track and the individual contributor track part ways.
Write what each title expects
One or two lines per title on scope, autonomy and impact, so the title means the same thing to everyone.
Example
| Level | Title | What is expected |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Junior Software Engineer | Delivers well-scoped tasks with review and regular guidance. |
| 2 | Mid Software Engineer | Owns whole features end to end with little day-to-day direction. |
| 3 | Senior Software Engineer | Leads delivery of a system and raises the bar for the team. |
| 4 | Lead Software Engineer | Sets technical direction across teams and unblocks their work. |
| 5 | Principal Software Engineer | Shapes engineering strategy and the hardest calls org-wide. |
A real five-title software engineering ladder, all on the individual contributor track. The title names change from Junior to Principal, but what matters is the scope: from small tasks with guidance, to whole features, to a whole system, to several teams, to the hardest problems in the company.
Source: Software engineering career path
Want to see how many titles other employers use for each kind of work? Browse the levels studies
Job title hierarchy vs written levels
A job title hierarchy is the order of the titles. Job leveling goes one step further: it gives each level a written scope, expected skills and a place in the whole organization, so a level means the same in every department.
Titles are the names people see. Levels are what the names stand for. A company can change a title without changing the level, and a good hierarchy keeps the two lined up.
Common mistakes
Title inflation
Handing out a higher title instead of a promotion makes the top of the hierarchy crowded and the titles lose their meaning.
Copying another company’s titles
Their titles stand for their scope. Borrow the idea of the steps, then write what each title means in your own team.
Too many small steps
When two neighboring titles cannot be told apart in writing, merge them.
Titles with no written scope
Without a line on what each title expects, two people with the same title can be doing very different work.
Frequently asked questions
What is a job title hierarchy?
It is the ordered list of job titles in a team or company, from the entry-level title to the most senior one. Each step up usually means a wider scope of work and more independence.
What is the highest job title?
In most companies the highest job title is Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Other C-level titles, such as CFO and CTO, sit in the same top tier. Some companies also have a board or an owner above the CEO.
What comes after senior?
It depends on the track. On the individual contributor track, the next title is often Lead, Staff or Principal. On the manager track, it is often Team Lead, Manager or Head of. Names vary by company.
What comes after manager?
Usually Senior Manager, then Director or Head of, then VP. Names vary by company.
Is associate the lowest level?
Often it is the entry-level title, next to Junior or Assistant. Some companies use Associate as a step above entry level.
Is lead higher than senior?
Often, yes: many companies put Lead one step above Senior. But some use Lead for a person who guides a project at the same step as Senior. Check the scope that comes with the title.
What is the difference between a job title and a level?
A title is the name on a person’s email signature. A level is the step the company places the role on, with a written scope and expectations. Two companies can use the same title for different levels.
What are typical job titles by level?
Typically: junior or associate at entry level, the plain title at mid level, then senior, then lead, staff or principal. After that come manager, director, VP and C-level. Real titles vary by company and department.
Further reading
- Classifying General Schedule Positions (U.S. Office of Personnel Management)
Related
- More real examples: Human resources career path · Content and SEO career path · Project management career path · B2B sales career path
- Other definitions: Skills matrix · Competency matrix · Competency framework · Career ladder · Career framework · Skills gap analysis · Competency model · Promotion readiness · Job leveling framework
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