E90: The Engineering Talent Pipeline is Broken: Juniors, AI & the Future of Game Dev w/ Carly Taylor

Hiring only senior engineers might feel like a smart move, but is it breaking game development? In this episode, Ben sits down with Carly Taylor (an engineer and data scientist formerly on Call of Duty, now at Databricks) to tackle one of the most pressing and misunderstood issues in game development today: the crumbling pipeline of engineering talent. They dive deep into the tragedy of the commons happening across studios, where short-term thinking and overreliance on senior talent are putting the future of game engineering at risk. Carly sheds light on the danger of under-investing in junior talent, the mentorship void left behind by remote work, and the role AI is really playing (hint: it's not what vendors are promising). Whether you're leading a studio, managing engineers, or trying to break into games yourself, this episode is a wake-up call. You’ll Hear: -Why the next generation of engineers is not being mentored -How studios are draining the senior talent pool -The real technical challenges of using AI in games -Why hiring only senior devs doesn’t produce better games -What juniors bring to the table (and why companies should listen) -How remote work disrupted knowledge transfer and how to rebuild it -Why game dev is still one of the most passionate industries in tech Connect with Carly Taylor: - Website: https://www.rebeldatascience.com/ - Substack: https://carlytaylor.substack.com/ - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carly-taylor - Databricks: https://www.databricks.com/dataaisummit/speaker/carly-taylor Join the Building Better Games Community: - BBG Discord: https://discord.gg/ySCPS5aMcQ - Level Up Your Production Skills: https://www.buildingbettergames.gg/succeeding-in-game-production - Subscribe to the BBG newsletter: https://www.buildingbettergames.gg/newsletter Connect with Us: - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjamin-carcich - Website: https://www.buildingbettergames.gg - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bbg.valarininc - YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BuildingBetterGames 👉 Subscribe for weekly episodes on game dev leadership, production, and culture.