Titles don’t mean much. I used to be a “Test Associate” and put “QA Engineer” on my resume. Whenever I get a title like Software Engineer IV, I just put Sr. Software Engineer on my resume. If I was leading a team as a developer, I’d have no problem calling myself Lead Developer, regardless of what my title was. As long as your experience maps to what you’re selling yourself as, there shouldn’t be much of a problem.
The only time I’d be mildly concerned would be in reference checks and background checks. I just tell my reference what I’ve been calling myself so it’s not a surprise and put my official title in the background check.
If your grossly misrepresenting yourself, make it through a subpar interview process, and you manage to get the job, you’ll simply be miserable & stressed out because your underperforming & worried about getting fired.
