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IC Levels
When you work at Cal.com, you will have an assigned IC level. These are often posted in our job listings and can be found on the employee list at cal.com/open.
IC levels range from 1 to 4, and determine the pay band and set of responsibilities that you have within the company.
One of the reasons behind clearly defined pay bands is that we pay everyone equally, no matter where they come from or any other demographics. For this reason, we don't allow salary negotiation or individual 'deals' when it comes to employment and instead stand firmly behind equal pay.
For example:
Somebody who's doing the same job as you in India whilst you are in San Francisco does not mean that the person from India should be paid less than you because they have a lower cost of living. Hence, if you're on the same IC band, then you're compensated the same both in salary and equity as anyone else in your band.
A common misconception with IC levels here is that people expect that they should aim to move up to the highest band because then that means they're the best. This is not correct, as IC bands are based on responsibilities in the team. Higher IC bands usually consist of more management-related responsibilities, whereas lower levels focus more on roles that are fully occupied with things like engineering and less management, documentation, or anything else.
As a result of this, we encourage you to look at what each IC band means and consider whether you would prefer a role where you can focus on getting code written, or if you want to move up to higher levels, where you'll then be expected to manage others on the team, research, document and more.
IC levels do not determine the complexity of code that you work on. Although higher IC levels tend to focus on the more foundational code, lower IC levels have an equal opportunity to work on core or complex parts of the code, but there is less of a responsibility to document and maintain it.
- Role: Junior engineers are the foundation of our engineering team and play an essential role in developing and maintaining our software.
- Responsibilities:
- Contribute to code development, adding new features to the software.
- Review Pull Requests and actively participate in code review processes.
- Fix software bugs and contribute across various functionalities.
- Ownership: While IC1s make significant contributions, they have limited formal responsibility for the codebase. They sometimes work closely under the guidance of more experienced engineers.
- Role: Engineers at this level are expected to delve deeper into the foundational code and provide leadership in project development.
- Responsibilities:
- Work with and enhance the core code of the software.
- Lead larger projects independently.
- Take full ownership and responsibility for designated projects and functionalities.
- Leadership: IC2s not only contribute but also guide and help in the growth of IC1s. They serve as points of reference for certain projects or modules.
- Role: IC3s are the backbone of our engineering efforts, holding ultimate responsibility for critical parts of our infrastructure and application.
- Responsibilities:
- Oversee and manage the build pipeline and database structures.
- Ensure application uptime and be the primary point of contact during application downtimes.
- Handle and solve complex backend logic tasks.
- Expertise: IC3s are specialists in timezone logic, Prisma, and possess top-tier TypeScript knowledge. They are often called upon for tasks that require deep technical expertise and understanding.
- Role: IC4s lead from the front, guiding the entire engineering team and working closely with collaborators from outside the company.
- Responsibilities:
- Mentor, guide, and manage team members across various IC levels.
- Lead the direction for the entire engineering team, setting priorities and defining strategies.
- Collaborate with external partners and lead integration projects with companies such as Prisma, BoxyHQ, and tRPC.
- Leadership: IC4s are not just experts in their field but are also responsible for the growth and direction of the engineering team. They are the pinnacle of our technical leadership and play an integral role in shaping Cal.com's future.
Last modified 1mo ago