P6P6 — Principal Professional
Architect/SME
Top-level expert and strategic leader. Drives enterprise-wide manufacturing strategy and innovation.
What this level means
Top individual contributor; recognized authority with strategic impact, equivalent to a low executive level
- Scope
- Organization-wide architecture and the hardest problems
- Autonomy
- Defines direction; minimal oversight
- Complexity
- Strategic, open-ended problems shaping the technical future
- Impact
- Organization-wide
- Decision rights
- Sets technical strategy for a major area
- Leadership
- Recognized authority; multiplies many teams
- Typical experience
- 12–18 yrs
What you'd do
- Guides recruitment of top engineering talent
- Provides visionary leadership on future manufacturing technologies
- Drives enterprise-wide strategy
- Leads innovation in manufacturing
- Shapes industry direction
- Drive enterprise strategy
- Lead innovation initiatives
- Guide talent recruitment
Skills, knowledge & tools
- Visionary leadership
- Industry shaping
- Strategic innovation
- Enterprise strategy
- Talent management
- Industry trends
- Strategic leadership
- Innovation in manufacturing
- Enterprise strategy
- Talent acquisition
- Visionary leadership
- Enterprise Perspective
- Ability to shape industry direction
- Strategic Innovation
- Talent recruitment
What good looks like
- 15+ years of extensive industry experience
- Proficiency in emerging fields like generative AI preferred
- Proven industry leadership
Common titles
Architect/SME
What it pays
Market-pay benchmarks for this family × level are being recalibrated across all survey sources and will return shortly.
O*NET / SOC: 17-2112.03 — Manufacturing Engineers