[hlassiege]

Thanks for this perspective—I'm the author, and I'm actually back to freelancing/solo now. You're absolutely right. Staying senior and not chasing Staff+ roles is a totally valid choice. I was CTO at this company, but in previous roles, I personally aimed for more impact, not out of ambition or to play the game, but because I wanted to. I wanted to move the product, shape the direction. I felt I could contribute beyond just my dev capacity, and that brought me satisfaction.

More importantly, we built this career path to give people who wanted to grow an alternative to pure management. That was the whole point: creating options.

But everyone finds fulfillment differently. I'm not saying this path is for everyone. Just sharing what worked for me and how we structured it at Malt.