In large enterprises, there is sometimes a ladder that rises from senior, to staff, to senior staff, to architect, to senior architect, to principal. It roughly follows the same ladder that you see in the executive world, with Director equivalent to staff-level and architect equivalent to Vice President, but for "individual" contributors.
In large enterprises, there is sometimes a ladder that rises from senior, to staff, to senior staff, to architect, to senior architect, to principal. It roughly follows the same ladder that you see in the executive world, with Director equivalent to staff-level and architect equivalent to Vice President, but for "individual" contributors.