“Another important detail is the role of the "Chief Engineer" (or "Shusa" in Japanese) in TPS. The Chief Engineer is accountable for the entire product development process, provides vision and direction, has a customer focus, integrates work across various cross-functional teams, is a technical expert, has decision-making authority, is a strong mentor and role model, and is generally a respected individual.”
https://cutlefish.substack.com/p/tbm-287-layoffs-pendulums-layers