When I started we had a clear distinction between titles and the duties associated:

Assistant (entry level)

Associate (3-5 yrs)

Research (7 or more yrs)

Senior (typically >10yrs)

We transitioned from Programmer to Software Engineer during my 1st 10 yrs. It was a sore point for other company employees because we had nearly as many electrical engineers as programmers. They weren't happy with us becoming "engineers".