# How Automation May Change the Role of Junior Software Engineers

DevFeed: [How Automation May Change the Role of Junior Software Engineers](<https://devfeed.tech/articles/what-about-juniors-12592.md>)

Original publisher: [Read original article](<http://brooker.co.za/blog/2026/03/25/ic-junior.html>)

Author: Marc Brooker

Published: 2026-03-25T00:00:00Z

Content type: opinion

Language: en

Sources: [Marc Brooker's Blog](<https://devfeed.tech/sources/marc-brooker-s-blog.md>), [Marc Brooker's Blog](<https://devfeed.tech/sources/marc-brooker-s-blog-2.md>)

Topics: [Software Engineering](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/software-engineering.md>), [Automation](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/automation.md>), [Learning](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/learning.md>)

Tags: [automation](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/automation.md>), [engineering](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/engineering.md>), [learning](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/learning.md>), [software-engineering](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/software-engineering.md>), [thoughts](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/thoughts.md>), [work](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/work.md>)

## AI overview

This opinion article considers how automation may change the role and career path of junior software engineers. It argues that learning and adapting quickly will remain an advantage, while junior engineers may need to engage earlier with business and customer context, problem definition, constraints, and engineering judgment as routine implementation work becomes more automated.

## Source excerpt

What about juniors? Start at the beginning. Last week I wrote about how the role of the most senior tech ICs has changed. Today, I wanted to share some thoughts on a more difficult topic: how the role of junior software engineers, folks just starting out on their career, has changed or will change. First, the good news. In last week's post, I wrote this about senior folks: It's hard to admit where you're wrong. It's hard to go back to being a beginner. Junior engineers don't have this problem. They're already beginners, and provided they approach the field with that mindset, that comes with a significant advantage. In any time of change, the people who can learn and adapt fastest are most likely to succeed. The senior's advantage is that they have a lot of knowledge and context. The junior's advantage is that they come in knowing that they need to learn, adapt, and change. So far, those are the easy answers. Other than learning, what do junior engineers do? To get an idea of this, I think we need to go look at other fields where similar transformations have happened. Notably, the transformation that separated the tasks of engineering and implementation, either automating the latter or passing it off to a different group of people. In my experience, junior software engineers are insulated from the business and customer context of their work. This isn't unique across engineering fields1, but I do think the extent of it and the length of the expected period of this insulated apprenticeship is unusual. That additional time seems to have been allocated to learning the craft and science of software engineering, a field for which most university educations leave one rather poorly prepared. This need to learn the craft appears to becoming less valuable, as automation seems set to take over most aspects of that craft. The new junior path appears to require getting engaged much earlier with the essence of engineering. To quote Arthur Wellington: to define it rudely but not in