Career Ladders
Explore the full engineering career ladder at top tech companies. Every level, typical timelines, what changes, why engineers get stuck, and how promotions actually work.
Google Data Scientist
5 levels — L3 to L7
Twice yearly (March and September) • committee
Google Engineering Manager
3 levels — L5 to L7
Twice yearly (March and September) • committee
Google Product Manager
4 levels — L3 to L6
Twice yearly (March and September) • committee
Google Software Engineer
6 levels — L3 to L8
Twice yearly (March and September) • committee
Meta Software Engineer
6 levels — E3 to E8
Annual review with mid-year check-in (moving to 2 full cycles per year under 2026 Checkpoint program) • hybrid
Amazon Data Scientist
4 levels — L4 to L7
Twice yearly (aligned with Forte review cycles in Q1 and Q3) • panel
Amazon Engineering Manager
3 levels — L5 to L7
Twice yearly (aligned with Forte review cycles in Q1 and Q3) • panel
Amazon Product Manager
4 levels — L4 to L7
Twice yearly (aligned with Forte review cycles in Q1 and Q3) • panel
Amazon Software Engineer
6 levels — SDE1 to Distinguished
Twice yearly (aligned with Forte review cycles in Q1 and Q3) • panel
Microsoft Software Engineer
7 levels — L59 to L65+
Semi-annual (aligned with Connects reviews in ~January and ~July) • manager
Apple Software Engineer
5 levels — ICT2 to ICT6
Annual (aligned with Apple's annual review cycle, typically in fall) • manager
Meta Engineering Manager
3 levels — M0 to M2
Annual review with mid-year check-in (moving to 2 full cycles per year under 2026 Checkpoint program) • hybrid
Meta Product Manager
5 levels — IC3 to IC7
Annual review with mid-year check-in (moving to 2 full cycles per year under 2026 Checkpoint program) • hybrid
Apple Product Manager
3 levels — ICT3 to ICT5
Annual (aligned with Apple's annual review cycle, typically in fall) • manager
Meta Data Scientist
4 levels — IC3 to IC6
Annual review with mid-year check-in (moving to 2 full cycles per year under 2026 Checkpoint program) • hybrid
Nvidia Software Engineer
6 levels — IC1 to IC6
Ongoing (no confirmed fixed cycles) • manager
OpenAI Software Engineer
5 levels — L3 to L7
Twice yearly (approximate — cycles have shifted as the company scales) • hybrid
Netflix Product Manager
2 levels — PM to Senior PM
No formal promotion cycle — promotions happen continuously based on manager discretion • manager
Netflix Software Engineer
4 levels — E3 to E6
No formal promotion cycle — promotions happen continuously based on manager discretion and demonstrated impact • manager
Airbnb Product Manager
3 levels — L4 to L6
Twice yearly (historically March and September) • hybrid
Airbnb Software Engineer
4 levels — G7 to G10
Twice yearly (historically March and September) • hybrid
Stripe Product Manager
3 levels — L2 to L4
Annually, with an abbreviated mid-year cycle • hybrid
Stripe Software Engineer
5 levels — L1 to L5
Annually, with an abbreviated mid-year cycle • hybrid
Uber Product Manager
3 levels — L4 to L6
Semi-annual (January and July) • hybrid
Uber Software Engineer
4 levels — L3 to L5b
Semi-annual (January and July) • hybrid
LinkedIn Product Manager
3 levels — APM to Senior PM
Twice yearly • manager
LinkedIn Software Engineer
3 levels — IC2 to IC4
Twice yearly • manager
Salesforce Customer Success Manager
4 levels — CSA to PCSM
Twice yearly, aligned with V2MOM cycles • hybrid
Salesforce Product Manager
3 levels — APM to Senior PM
Twice yearly (February and August announcements) • manager
Salesforce Software Engineer
5 levels — AMTS to PMTS
Twice yearly (February and August announcements) • manager
Spotify Software Engineer
5 levels — Associate to Staff
Twice yearly (biannual cycles) • committee
Atlassian Software Engineer
4 levels — P30 to P60
Regular review cycles (typically twice yearly) • hybrid
Shopify Software Engineer
4 levels — L5 to L8
Continuous under ~Mastery system (skills and impact scoring reviewed regularly) • hybrid
Snap Software Engineer
4 levels — L3 to L6
Twice yearly (review cycles) • hybrid
Coinbase Software Engineer
4 levels — IC3 to IC6
Regular review cycles (typically twice yearly) • manager
Databricks Software Engineer
4 levels — L3 to L6
Twice yearly (two promotion windows per year) • hybrid
Palantir Software Engineer
3 levels — SWE to Lead
No formal promotion cycles (continuous, ad hoc) • manager
DoorDash Software Engineer
4 levels — E3 to E6
Twice yearly (biannual review cycles) • hybrid
Lyft Software Engineer
4 levels — T3 to T6
Biannual performance reviews • manager
Tesla Software Engineer
6 levels — P1 to P6
No fixed cadence — promotions happen when leadership agrees • manager
Bloomberg Software Engineer
2 levels — SE to SSE
Annual (tied to year-end performance review and bonus cycle) • manager
Citadel Software Engineer
4 levels — L1 to L4
Annual (tied to year-end review and bonus cycle) • manager
Spotify Product Manager
5 levels — Associate to Group
Continuous (no fixed promotion windows) • hybrid
Atlassian Product Manager
4 levels — P30 to P60
Regular cycles (specific cadence not publicly documented) • panel
Shopify Product Manager
4 levels — L4 to L7
Not publicly documented • hybrid
Snap Product Manager
4 levels — L3 to L6
Not publicly documented • hybrid
Coinbase Product Manager
4 levels — IC3 to IC6
Yearly (once per year) • hybrid
Databricks Product Manager
4 levels — L3 to L6
Not publicly documented • hybrid
Palantir Product Manager
3 levels — L3 to L5
No fixed cycles (impact-driven) • manager
HubSpot Customer Success Manager
4 levels — CSA to PCSM
Semi-annual performance reviews • manager
Gainsight Customer Success Manager
4 levels — L1 to L4
Quarterly OKR reviews with formal promotion cycles twice yearly • hybrid
Zendesk Customer Success Manager
4 levels — CSS to PCSM
Annual reviews with ongoing manager check-ins • manager
Google Data Analyst
4 levels — L3 to L6
Twice yearly (March and September) • committee
Meta Data Analyst
4 levels — IC3 to IC6
Twice yearly (typically H1 and H2 review cycles) • hybrid
Amazon Data Analyst
3 levels — L4 to L6
Twice yearly (typically Q1 and Q3) • hybrid
Microsoft Data Analyst
4 levels — 59 to 63
Annual review cycle with mid-year check-in • manager
Lyft Data Analyst
3 levels — T3 to T5
Twice yearly (aligned with performance review cycles) • manager
Apple Data Analyst
3 levels — ICT2 to ICT4
Annual (aligned with Apple's yearly review cycle) • manager
Airbnb Data Analyst
4 levels — L3 to L6
Twice yearly (approximately March and September) • hybrid
Netflix Data Analyst
3 levels — Data Analyst to Staff Data Analyst
No formal promotion cycle — promotions happen continuously based on manager discretion and demonstrated impact • manager
Uber Data Analyst
4 levels — L3 to L5b
Twice yearly (semiannual — mid-year and end-of-year) • hybrid
Databricks Data Analyst
4 levels — L3 to L6
Twice yearly (semi-annual promotion windows) • hybrid
Snowflake Data Analyst
4 levels — IC1 to IC4
Quarterly performance reviews; promotion eligibility roughly every two years • manager
Spotify Data Analyst
4 levels — Associate to Staff
Ongoing — evidence-based rather than fixed calendar cycles • hybrid