what does it mean to be a tech lead
Lead programmer A lead programmer is a software engineer in charge of one or more software projects. Alternative titles include development lead, technical lead, lead software engineer, software design engineer lead (SDE lead), software development manager, software manager, or lead application developer. When primarily contributing in a high-level enterprise software design role, the title software architect (or similar) is often used.
Subject-matter expert A subject-matter expert (SME) or domain expert is a person who is an authority in a particular area or topic. The term domain expert is frequently used in expert systems software development, and there the term always refers to the domain other than the software domain. A domain expert is a person with special knowledge or skills in a particular area of endeavour. (An accountant is an expert in the domain of accountancy, for example.) The development of accounting software requires knowledge in two different domains: accounting and software. Some of the development workers may be experts in one domain and not the other. A SME should also have basic knowledge of other technical subjects.[citation needed]