No, and neither will a software engineer wash her hands of a bug, but a construction engineer isn't responsible for the layout of a building being overly labyrinthine—that's on the architect.

Likewise, product managers and designers who are talking to customers and conducting user experience research have the context to make decisions that engineers can't reasonably second guess.

We may be thinking of two different roles, which might fall under the engineer umbrella. When I think of an engineer (and especially so a 10x or elite engineer), they design and invent and create and have absolute control over what they do.

If an engineer doesn't have control or follows the designs of an architect, they are merely in an executor role, and their engineering skill is put to use not in inventing or solving a problem but merely executing.

There's a time and place for that, but it's definitely not the dream when I think of the engineer I would want to be.

> they design and invent and create and have absolute control over what they do.

In this dream, what is the role of UX researcher? Of product manager? How many such "elite" engineers are working on the product at one time? What's her relationship with the customer or end user? Are all the engineers on her team "elite", or is there only one? How does she interface with stakeholders? At what stage of her design process does she submit wireframes, prototypes, or plans for review? How much of her time is spent accessibility testing? How does she receive feedback about the product?

Like you, I've been happiest in my role when invited to share in the full discovery, design, and implementation processes from end to end; as a software engineer, I always look forward to engaging with customers/users and participating in--even leading!--research and design activities. But I also recognize that should our team be so lucky as to acquire a person more expert in those methods than I, the artifacts of their intelligence are only more grist for the mill.

> their engineering skill is put to use not in inventing or solving a problem

As Feynman put it, "there is plenty of room at the bottom," and as Cook said, "all ambiguity is resolved by actions of practitioners at the sharp end of the system," but if the first seven layers bore you, by all means, hack the eighth!