TECH CAREERS

Glossary

1. PgM = Program manager; manages large, complex, interdependent processes at a company (e.g., runs the Hiring our Heroes program at Microsoft).
2. TPM = Technical Program Manager; like a PgM but needs more technical insight and works with engineers (e.g., allocates who uses which GPU cluster at Meta or helps drive execution of a product). Usually more execution than strategy
3. PM = Product Manager; defines vision and strategy for a product, works with engineers to build it. Balances user needs, business needs, technical capabilities. Role varies from company to company.
4. PM-T = Product Manager, Technical (only at Amazon)
5. SWE = Software Engineer
6. EM = Engineering MAnager
7. TL = Tech lead; usually a senior individual contributor
8. IC = individual contributor; not a manager
9. TLM = Tech Lead Manager; writes code and manages other SWEs
10. Downlevel = To get a job offer at a lower level
11. TC = Total compensation (base + bonus + equity)
12. 409a = a 3rd party, fair market evaluation of the value of a private company’s stock
13. Options or Stock Options = the right to buy a share of a (private) company
14. Strike price or Exercise Price = the price you pay as the employee to get the stock
15. Series A, B, C, D, E… = Funding stages of private companies
16. Solutions e.g., Solutions Engineer, Solutions Architect, Solutions manager = pre-sales hands-on-with-customer engineering roles that builds a custom solution on top of a platform (e.g, AWS, C3, Palantir). Mil tech folks may be very well suited for this. Recognize that companies that sell solutions have lower margins, likely lower pay, and you may not get the same “brand” recognition as being a PM or SWE at a pure SaaS company
17. SaaS = Software as a service