Principal Engineer | AI/ML, Fintech, E-commerce & Geospatial Expert | NIT Warangal Alumnus | Ex-Velocity, Ex-Bizongo, Ex-Geniemode
'We only hire senior developers' Congrats! You're building a time bomb. Here's why: Senior-only teams create: • Echo chambers of outdated practices • Zero knowledge transfer • Expensive solutions to simple problems • 10 architects, no builders What you're really missing: • Fresh perspectives • Hunger to learn • Questions that challenge assumptions • Future leaders The brutal truth: • Your 'senior' requirements are fear-based • Your '10 years experience' is arbitrary • Your 'no junior devs' policy is expensive technical debt Why this matters: • Innovation needs new eyes • Growth requires teaching • Sustainability demands succession • AI is leveling the experience gap anyway How to fix it: 1. Hire for potential, not just experience 2. Create mentorship structures 3. Balance your team pyramid 4. Accept that juniors today code better than seniors did 5 years ago Remember: Today's 'risky' junior is tomorrow's 'savior'. What's your take on the senior-only trend? Drop your thoughts below 👇 *** P.S. If your entire team is senior developers, who's asking the 'stupid' questions that prevent stupid mistakes?
I get your points on the "senior only teams create" list , but the "What you're really missing:" is absolutely not true. Senior developers can't make future leaders? Why not? What kind of miserable senior developers have you worked with who do not have a hunger to learn? If anything, senior developers who have worked for a while have a better understand of how to learn, what to learn and more importantly what not to waste time on learning. Senior developers aren't capable of questions that challenge assumptions? Why not? "Fresh perspectives"? A new hire always brings fresh perspectives anyway right? By definition they are new to your team, so every perspective they have is fresh right? Also, their perspectives are battle hardened. Where a junior developer might say "why are we doing things this way", a senior developer might say "Why are we doing things this way, we did it this way in a previous company once and these are the ways it failed", which is a lot more valuable. Yes, hiring seniors only may be a bad idea, but you seem to be putting down senior engineers for all the absolutely wrong reasons.
As a senior developer myself I can guarantee we also ask stupid questions on a regular basis
I just don’t want to be hired as Atlas. A well balanced team needs juniors too.
I agree juniors are important in a team, but don't agree on some of the senior dev claims you are making, it's too general and opinionated, the world at large is full of variation, not the case in my company FYI
Thanks for sharing, Mani
🧠 Spot on—senior-only teams often optimise for comfort, not capability. Without juniors, you lose succession, diversity of thought, and the spark that challenges legacy assumptions. 🔄👩💻🌱
Senior-heavy teams might ship fast today, but they stall tomorrow without fresh energy, mentorship, and long-term thinking. Balance builds resilience.
Absolutely correct
Data Engineer @Bilby.ai | Crafting scalable ML pipelines | Lifelong learner pushing boundaries daily
3moWhy would all senior devs create expensive solutions to simple problems? While beginners are known to use hacky methods, but I often have "seen" (😉) these hacky, cheap methods lead to disastrous results, leading to more bills. 😅😅