yeah, the 10xer sort of exists, it just depends what we're measuring.

If we're talking about code monkeys, devs who just take in requirements and churn out code, then no, there are no 10x code monkeys. At best the senior devs are like 3x better.

If we're talking about developers that are also planners and trailblazers, devs that understand the business needs, and are constantly thinking about how to leverage their own tech knowledge and the company's assets to get maximum business value for minimum effort, then yeah there's definitely 10x engineers. Arguably there are even 10000x engineers (thinking about those startup entrepreneurs that created working prototype apps that grew into multi-million dollar businesses)