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5.4Skills Needed at Each Level
| Skill Area | Junior (IC1) | Mid (IC2) | Senior (IC3) | Staff (IC4) | Principal (IC5) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Test design | Follows templates | Creates test cases independently | Designs test strategies | Sets organizational test standards | Defines company-wide quality approach |
| Automation | Writes basic scripts | Builds and maintains test suites | Designs test frameworks | Architects cross-team test infrastructure | Evaluates and adopts emerging technologies |
| Domain knowledge | Learning | One product area | Full product | Multiple products | Industry-wide perspective |
| Communication | Reports status | Explains risks to team | Influences team decisions | Presents to leadership | Represents quality to executives and externally |
| Mentoring | Receives mentoring | Helps peers | Mentors juniors | Develops senior engineers | Shapes the QA profession |
| Strategic thinking | Follows the plan | Suggests improvements | Creates the plan | Aligns plans across teams | Sets the vision |
| Technical breadth | One tool/framework | Several tools | Full stack awareness | Cross-domain expertise | Technology thought leadership |