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I am being offered a position as AWS Developer. I am expected to lead in this position. My Offer letter only mentioned role as "AWS Software Developer" It's a public company (not a start-up) .

I have received a response that reads:

For the official title for this role, it is AWS Software Developer. That being said, we would let you use “Lead” as part of your working title, on your resume, etc.

Does that sound right? They say it has to do with how the company structures designations and titles.

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    Do you actually care about the title, or do you care about the responsibilities you'll have? If the latter, then you need to ask about that.
    – Philip Kendall
    Jun 3, 2020 at 19:59
  • Does your offer letter mention anything about being a lead?
    – sf02
    Jun 3, 2020 at 20:43
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    @sf02: No. Offer letter doesn't talk about any job responsibilities. It's pretty generic with details about compensation, title, vacation policy and such
    – systemdebt
    Jun 3, 2020 at 23:48

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In my organization, there is only one title of "Software Developer"

Whether you be the team lead managing 12ish people or be a year out of university, every developer on my team just has the title of Software Developer. Seen a couple other organizations like that as well. People amend it for their LinkedIn profiles as desired.

I don't see a major problem.

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    They very likely have few titles for bookkeeping purposes, and then actual job titles that go on CVs, not always covering the same as bookkeeping ones.
    – Aida Paul
    Jun 3, 2020 at 19:56
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    At my company they've made it so most people's titles are just their department, so the manager of engineering's title is simply "engineering". The only people I could find with actual titles were executive staff. IMO it's annoying but it does happen.
    – Kat
    Jun 4, 2020 at 20:30
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Does that sound right? They say it has to do with how the company structures designations and titles.

It's not all that unusual.

I worked for a startup company where everyone had the title of "Software Engineer". That included Lead Developers and all other Developers. It also included all QAers, and everyone else in the R&D team. Made no sense to me, but was apparently the idea of a new head of HR.

That said, I never used Software Engineer on my resume. I used the title that I was offered and that most matched the role I actually held. It was never a problem for my career.

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Matthew and Joe both make great points: it's not unusual and I'll echo that I've had the same experience.

I'd still like to add two things to the discussion.

First, to many, titles telegraph status and responsibility to members inside and outside the organization; it's quite reasonable that you care about it.

The good news is your employer has explicitly said you can use "Lead" in both your working title (with colleagues/email signature) and on your resume (outside the company).

Second, the "bookkeeping purposes" Tymoteusz refers to is also quite normal. Often job titles are standardized across an organization for simplicity and compliance reasons.

If you were concerned about starting at a lower rung, I wouldn't worry about that either. Those who are likely to have the biggest impact on your career advancement are your bosses (and maybe colleagues if you do 360-style reviews). Those people will know what you do.

Of course, this assumes you will also actually do the lead things you want and expect.

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