The Missing Role in the IT Industry

The story goes something like this… Until today, the title of “Senior Developer” was usually a privilege reserved for a select few in the programming world—those who managed to find the right opportunities to develop their expertise. And yes, I was one of those fortunate ones, but we’re well aware that this reality is far from common for most people. In fact, around 60% of recent graduates face great difficulties when trying to land their first job in tech. Why? Because they lack prior experience.

It was in this context that we at Teamcubation realized the urgent need for an effective solution to help new talent in the tech industry gain that essential experience. And so, my beloved role was born: the Squad Senior—a position that combines leadership and technical knowledge to mentor, guide, and develop experience in new developers as they integrate into companies.

Tell me, wouldn’t you have wanted a mentor in your profession—someone to help you grow and reach your full potential? That’s exactly the role we, the Squad Seniors (also called coaches), fulfill at Teamcubation.

While Senior Developers typically focus on honing their technical skills and leading challenging software development projects, the Squad Senior has the amazing task of guiding and training the Senior Developers of tomorrow (today’s Junior Developers), helping them progress from an entry-level stage to nearly reaching Semi-Senior status in a specific programming language.

The transformation of the Senior Developer role arises as a response to two key challenges: overcoming the experience gap and meeting the growing demand for highly skilled IT professionals.

We Squad Seniors have become the critical bridge that guides freshly graduated junior developers toward the level of seniority that companies highly seek. Now, these companies can rely on a steady stream of experienced IT talent.

Not only do I love my job, but I also see it as a true win-win, as it means being part of a team that truly works side by side. In every Squad, Juniors feel supported and guided as they navigate their first professional experience, and we, the mentors, enrich our own profiles by sharing our knowledge and expertise.

It’s incredible and fills me with pride to see how, after just two months in the Squad, the Juniors—whom we affectionately call “Rookies”—are amazed by how much they’ve accomplished in such a short time. And when the program ends, reading messages like this makes it all worthwhile:

Translation: