Does Dimitri think junior engineers still need to learn data structures and algorithms with AI?

Dimitri says that, without endorsing it, he thinks a junior engineer could get away with not understanding data structures and algorithms for at least a couple of years, because models are improving and employers want AI-native hires. His worry is later: senior decisions such as rewriting a system in Go or Rust have long-term effects that are hard to measure, and judging them depends on understanding at least one level below where you work.

• Dimitri's example of one level below: a Python developer knowing what the interpreter does and how much memory a dict uses compared with a list.
• Dimitri says the mentees he works with do roughly 70 to 80% of their job through AI, with the rest human review and editing.

▸In their words

“I'm not endorsing this, but I think you could get away with not understanding data structures and algorithms for a couple of years” Dimitri · at 9:09 — open in the transcript →

Source: our own transcription of the episode. The full conversation is on A Life Engineered (2026-10-19). Read the whole episode summary →

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