Engineering career map

Career maps are a tool we use to map out all the different levels within a team. They give clarity on what we expect at each level and help our people know how they can progress in their team. They also help us evaluate impact and pay our people consistently and fairly. We're sharing our Engineering team levels to give you an idea of where you might fit, what's expected at each level and how you can progress at Wise. While career map frameworks are a useful guideline, they should never replace one-to-one career development and coaching conversations. All our employees go through an annual 360 feedback review, where we refine our individual development plans. This framework helps our Engineering Leads have more structured conversations with their team members about progression and understand what they need to do to increase their impact on our mission. When you're thinking about your skills in relation to these levels, always remember it's not a tick box exercise, but rather a guide to show the kind of impact we expect from our people as they progress in their journey at Wise. Different roles and teams have varying expectations on certain areas, but on the whole these expectations are common across all roles. Two Engineering tracks There are two Engineering tracks at Wise – the Individual Contributor track (IC) and the Engineering Lead track (EL). Individual contributors are not only responsible for developing our product and platform, but as engineers with a product mindset, the more they progress in their careers, the greater impact they are expected to have. This impact is not limited to ensuring that our technology is reliable, secure and available; it also extends to having strong opinions and expertise in their respective domains (whether that be product, platform, or any other area) and actively contributing to its evolution in the right direction. It's important to note that being an individual contributor does not mean working in isolation. These individuals also play a crucial role in maintaining high standards within our team by assisting with hiring new engineers and coaching existing ones. On the other hand, our engineering leads differ from classical engineering managers at other companies. They not only oversee the career growth, wellbeing and performance of our individual contributors (ensuring teams are aligned and delivering efficiently), but they also work with the rest of our product organisation to establish future plans for our product and platform. As they continue to develop professionally, their role expands to include taking ownership and contributing to our strategy and roadmaps, helping not only in its execution but also in its creation. The engineering lead track is not superior or inferior to the individual contributor track. These are fundamentally distinct roles with separate expectations and expertise required. It is crucial for Wisers to make a decision on which path to take based on the type of work they enjoy, where they believe they can contribute value and make an impact, and where their skills, capabilities, and interests align. These decisions are not irreversible though. Wisers can move between the two tracks if their interests and areas where they can have impact change. How career levels work Our levels are not fixed points in a career and do not correlate with specific amounts of years of experience. In each level, there is an evolution of skills and competency. We hire engineers with varying levels of expertise and experience, and we expect every engineer to increase their impact and grow through the different levels during their time at Wise. While we expect every engineer to eventually move at least between IC1 → IC4 or EL1 → EL2, we understand that everyone moves at their own pace (inside some reasonable limits defined by Wisers with their leads). The transitions between IC4 → IC6 and between EL2 → EL4 involve more than just small improvements; they involve significant changes in roles, with wider and bigger responsibilities. As a result, we do not expect that all Wisers will be willing or able to reach these levels. Leads should offer support and coaching to help every Wiser grow. It's also important to mention that these levels are cumulative, so engineers must perform well in all expectations up to their current level (except for clear cases where an expectation overtakes a previous one). Therefore, if we state that EL1s should "Exemplify all Wise Values," it is unnecessary to repeat this expectation for the EL2+ levels since they are expected to do it as well. This means that, to understand your expectations, you should not only read the ones specific to your level but also the previous ones.

Wise is authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority under the Electronic Money Regulations 2011, Firm Reference 900507, for the issuing of electronic money.