There is a certain amount of debate around what being a senior software engineer means. The truth is that I didn’t hear about any convincing formal definition of it. At least not one based on number of years at the role, salary, or management position. My personal experience is that, more than a clear definition of when you become a senior, there is instead one clear duty that comes with the role once you get into it. And there are three supporting pillars that help succeeding at it.

For me, the main duty of a senior technical worker, a software engineer in my case, is making sound professional decisions. It is expected from somebody hired as a senior engineer to make decisions, and try to make them as right as possible based on your capabilities. This decision-making process is supported by:

• Having experience making decisions! There is no substitute for having experience with all the trying things out, with success, and with failure (and overcoming it). That’s human nature.

• Having the skills to solve the right problem with the right tool or technique. This one is very straightforward. The software business is a very technical and competitive one, and a good engineer needs to be tech-savy and a good problem solver.

• Having the degree of commitment to be involved in making decisions. This commitment is acquired over years of finding out your way into the profession. Like with everything else in life, it takes time to find out what you are looking for. The closer you are to that, the more committed and passionate you become. And this really helps to make better decisions.