In general, I believe in this kind of system. I've long been a fan of public engineering ladders (see: Rent the Runway) and create a real career path for non-managers.

But... I see a lot of companies hiring at the senior end of the management track (Directors, VPs, etc.) and not so much on the non-management side (usually tops out a senior engineer).

I think that if companies are serious about non-managerial tracks, they need to hire for such roles more seriously.