When companies think about scaling their engineering teams, the instinct is often to look for seasoned senior developers with +7 years in the industry. Experience feels like the safest bet, especially when projects are complex, timelines are tight, and expectations are increasingly high. But focusing only on senior talent can actually limit a team’s potential and lead to missed opportunities for growth, innovation, and long-term success.
I say this not just as someone who has led engineering teams, but also as a professor. Teaching new developers taught me that raw talent and curiosity often matter more than years of experience. Emergent talent may start with less field experience, but the right environment can accelerate their growth in ways that surprise even the most experienced leaders. And the payoff for companies that embrace this is enormous.
There is an enormous talent pool of exceptional junior developers that most companies are overlooking. And while many companies are busy fighting over the same limited pool of senior engineers—driving up salaries, extending hiring timelines, and creating churn—those who invest in junior, AI-native engineers unlock a sustainable and cost-effective way to build strong, resilient teams.
Let’s break down why companies often shy away from junior developers, what they’re missing when they do, and how to make hiring juniors not only work, but thrive.
Why Do Companies Avoid Juniors?
Hiring junior engineers comes with certain perceived risks. Companies often worry about:
- Training time: Juniors require guidance before they can operate independently.
- Slower ramp-up: They may take longer to deliver results compared to senior engineers.
- Management overhead: Teams need to dedicate resources to mentoring, code reviews, and knowledge transfer.
In a nutshell, companies see hiring emergent talent as a short-term burden. For organizations focused on immediate delivery, juniors might feel like a luxury they can’t afford.
The Main Mistakes Companies Make
So why do some companies still fail when they try to bring juniors on board? Often, it comes down to outdated assumptions and processes.
- Old assumptions about onboarding time
Many leaders still assume junior engineers need 6–12 months before they’re productive. That might have been true a decade ago, but today’s AI-savvy juniors ramp up much faster. With the right tools, they can navigate large codebases without constantly interrupting senior teammates, generate boilerplate code instantly, and pick up new technologies at an accelerated pace. - Outdated interviews
Too many companies still rely on whiteboard challenges and algorithm memorization tests. These exercises say little about how someone will actually perform on the job, especially now that AI can handle many of those textbook problems. What matters more is problem-solving ability, adaptability, and collaborative skills.
Before I share my take on AI-native engineers interviews, let’s talk about what’s so great about them.
What Companies Are Missing
Here’s the flip side: by ignoring juniors, companies miss out on benefits that are harder to quantify but crucial in the long run.
- Fresh perspectives: Juniors aren’t locked into “the way things have always been done.” Additionally, the opportunity of working in global teams will help them grow at an amazing rate.
- Adaptability: They’re eager to learn and adopt new technologies quickly.
- Inherently AI-ready: Many juniors entering the workforce today are “AI-native”, they’ve grown up using AI tools as part of their learning process. They know how to leverage AI to understand codebases faster, generate boilerplate code, and experiment with new frameworks, making their ramp-up time far shorter than companies assume.
- Culture building: They bring energy, enthusiasm, and curiosity that keep teams dynamic.
- Scalability: Hiring juniors is more cost-effective, freeing senior developers to focus on higher-level architecture, strategy, and innovation.
In other words, juniors don’t just fill seats. They unlock capacity for the entire team.
Why I Love Working With Junior Talent
With over 11 years of experience as a Quality Assurance professor at Mendoza University, I’ve had the privilege of teaching and mentoring hundreds of students as they begin their careers. That role has given me a unique perspective on the potential of juniors; their fresh curiosity, their eagerness to learn, and the innovative ideas they bring to the table. This experience shapes the way I approach teamwork and leadership today, because I’ve seen firsthand how investing in juniors not only accelerates their growth but also adds real value to organizations.
Working with juniors allows me to share knowledge, but also to continuously challenge myself, explaining concepts in new ways, rethinking established practices, and staying open to fresh ideas.
What I find most rewarding is seeing how quickly they develop when given the right support and opportunities. Their growth not only strengthens the team but also reinforces the collaborative culture I believe in. For me, it’s about building the next generation of professionals who will continue to elevate the quality of our work.
And just as importantly, they need the opportunity to start learning from real experience and to apply their potential in the field. I enjoy guiding them through that journey, watching their confidence grow as they turn theory into practice and problem-solving.
How to Hire the Right AI-Native Engineers
Not every junior hire is the right hire; it comes down to mindset and how you evaluate them. Here are some effective ways to find the ones with true potential:
Filter for curiosity and depth
Don’t just ask what projects they’ve built, dig deeper. Keep asking why and how until you hit the bottom of their understanding. The best candidates light up when they talk about their work and show genuine passion.
Give a realistic coding challenge
A small take-home project with permission to use any tools, including AI, reveals a lot. The real test is the follow-up: can they explain their choices, trade-offs, and the reasoning behind their solution?
Balance AI with raw problem-solving
Run two short interviews: one where they solve a system design problem without AI, and another where they implement a small task using AI tools. You’ll see how well they can think independently and how effectively they leverage AI when it makes sense.
Evaluate their AI strategy
Ask how they typically use AI in their workflow. The strongest juniors are those who can both think critically without AI and harness it intelligently when it accelerates their work.
You don’t need to find a candidate who knows everything. The ideal candidate is someone who thinks critically, is eager to learn quickly, and can grow with the team.
Help Junior Talent Grow After the Hire
Hiring juniors is only half the equation. Making it work requires intentional onboarding and support:
- Mentorship: Pair juniors with experienced engineers who can guide them.
- Clear growth paths: Define what progress looks like in the first 3, 6, and 12 months.
- Knowledge-sharing culture: Encourage questions, documentation, and learning moments during reviews.
- Celebrate progress: Recognize milestones, no matter how small, to keep motivation high.
With the right framework, juniors become productive faster and create ripple effects across the team.
Final Thoughts
Hiring only senior developers might feel like the “safe” strategy, but it leaves untapped potential on the table. Emergent talent brings energy, adaptability, and long-term scalability that can transform a team. The key is not whether you should hire juniors, but how you support them once they’re on board.
And here’s the bigger picture: companies that overlook juniors are also missing out on a generation of AI-native engineers. Talent that will learn quickly, adapt to new tools with ease, and can grow into exceptional senior engineers much faster than traditional career paths allow. The companies that figure this out go beyond simply building teams and create solid ecosystems for talent to thrive. If you need help creating a new team or would like to access emergent talent to try out this approach, reach out to Techunting. We’ll be more than happy to explore how we can support your growth.
