He didn't.
Is Mark Cerny an Engineer? *spawn
- Thread starter I'mDudditz!
- Start date
Yes, your being pedantic. 
Different cultures have different interpretations.
Looking at the larger umbrella groups involved in producing and releasing a console, what does Cerny come under? Maybe you'd call that 'designer' over 'engineer' but for others, designing the functionality would be engineering.
The important point here isn't his official definition but the context to interpret his tech talks when he explains the decision making behind their console designs. He's not addressing us from the perspective of marketing but on how the platform was engineered, and thus his words are engineering. It could be someone else, an actual engineer, thought about the IO stack and suggested it to Cerny and he agreed and gave the go-ahead - he's then just a figurehead, but his explanation and reasoning is that of the engineer/engineering department so it's technical and factual.
Different cultures have different interpretations.Looking at the larger umbrella groups involved in producing and releasing a console, what does Cerny come under? Maybe you'd call that 'designer' over 'engineer' but for others, designing the functionality would be engineering.
The important point here isn't his official definition but the context to interpret his tech talks when he explains the decision making behind their console designs. He's not addressing us from the perspective of marketing but on how the platform was engineered, and thus his words are engineering. It could be someone else, an actual engineer, thought about the IO stack and suggested it to Cerny and he agreed and gave the go-ahead - he's then just a figurehead, but his explanation and reasoning is that of the engineer/engineering department so it's technical and factual.
Oversaw* the design of the iPhone.
cheapchips
Veteran
In the US, "programmer" and "software engineer" are interchangeable. There is no standards body or widely accepted accreditation for the latter, and job postings for engineers always denote a programmer role, and pretty much everyone in the industry understands the nomenclature.
So yes, Cerney is a software engineer.
Nah, he's just a code monkey.
Interesting. Here, a programmer doesn't even need accreditation and can obtain a diploma in "college", the level above high school but below university. A software engineer needs to be accredited and earn at least a bachelor's degree in software engineering. After that, they also need to pass an exam from the order of engineers to be certified and earn their license. Granted, that's fairly recent. The regulations for software engineers only came about around 10 years ago.
Of course, nothing precludes any company from hiring a programmer and calling them a software engineer anyway but typically, they will ask for your credentials when specifically looking for a software engineer and not just a programmer.
Engineer and architect arent necessarilly the same. Cerny knows the industry, where the technology is going, what the developers need, and therefore what the hardware should be able to do. Therefore his input is then reflected on the hardware design by actual engineers who are using it to make the hardware.
Cerney is not an "engineer" in the same vein as Kutaragi. "Software engineer" is an appropriate title for Cerney, but we aren't normally talking about the design of the system software for the Playstations. We are usually talking hardware in which "engineer" I don't believe is the appropriate term. "Designer" is the more suitable title as Cerney is a software engineer who led the creation of the PS4/5 hardware. As a game developer he has a great understanding of how the hardware can ably service game-based applications. But leading the development of a hardware on a conceptual level is not the same as having a fine grain understanding of how the underlying silicon actually works which is something a hardware engineer would have.
Not that that is a knock on Cerney because his software background has helped him avoid the issues that ended Kutaragi's helm as PS designer. Cerney's approach has the hardware cater to the software while Kutaragi's approach was the opposite. Kutaragi's approach became problematic with the design of the PS3 and the presence of the Xbox whose design approach mirrors Cerney's (make it easy for developers to take advantage of the hardware).
Not that that is a knock on Cerney because his software background has helped him avoid the issues that ended Kutaragi's helm as PS designer. Cerney's approach has the hardware cater to the software while Kutaragi's approach was the opposite. Kutaragi's approach became problematic with the design of the PS3 and the presence of the Xbox whose design approach mirrors Cerney's (make it easy for developers to take advantage of the hardware).
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For me, 'designer' means visuals and aesthetics mostly. I'd separate out 'architect'. That works on a construction-work analogy.
Btw from page 1, seems there's another question still hanging : why cerny didn't have engineer in his LinkedIn or something
No no, that's an helper! /s
He isn't and the poster above you had a very concise explanation.
Because he isn't an engineer unless we mean software engineer which obviously isn't what the initial question pertains to. It was simply a matter of Cerny's chops about engineering the hardware. He didn't do that. He's the architect, the man telling what he wants and how he wants it done. The actual engineer who gets it done was someone else. Kutaragi as noted above is an engineer.
Again, no knock on Cerny but unless you specifically mean software engineer, calling him an engineer is a misnomer.
He was described by I'mDuddidtz! and Richard Leadbetter as an engineer. Notably, Richard uses Cerny's position as engineer to add validity to the future application of the SSD. "He's doesn't do hype. He's an engineer. Engineers talk about what they're doing, what they're trying to achieve. Cerny did the math and figured this was viable. He built the system for that use. "
His position as an engineer and the guy who designed the system is used as a position of authority to trust the vision. Ergo, if he's not an engineer and wasn't involved in the creation of the system, his word carries less weight as he may not know what he's talking about. As such, we want to know if he is a voice of informed authority or not, for which the definition of 'engineer' and Cerny's role spawned this discussion.
Still sounds more like a misuse of a word taking more attention that it deserves. Lead system architect or "engineer", people are focusing too much on a word. What do the facts say regardless of use of the word "engineer". He significantly contributed to the design of the console.
arandomguy
Veteran
In terms of this specific debate however it's not really about how much he was involved with respect to the design of the console.
The implication is that "engineers" of a specific type in peoples minds (well some) aren't involved in the marketing hype and wouldn't engage in that (which is a statement that can be questioned, but let's ignore that for a moment).
While "lead designer" or "lead system architect" or similar likely carries much less of that connotation in peoples minds, if not outright expecation that people in that position are involved in marketing and would engage in marketing hype.
You don't think Sony allowing m.2 cards with 5.5TB to expand its storage made their 7TB+21TB numbers marketing fluff?
If that wasn't hype what was it?