🚀 The AI-Age Dream Team (At the App Team Level)
- Mark Kendall
- 11 hours ago
- 2 min read
🚀 The AI-Age Dream Team (At the App Team Level)
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what a high-performing application team should look like in the age of AI.
Not a bloated org chart.
Not hype about replacing engineers.
Not “AI will solve everything.”
Just a realistic, high-functioning dream team model.
Here’s what I’m seeing.
1️⃣ The Systems Architect (North Star)
Someone has to think 2–3 years ahead.
Defines ingress/egress patterns
Owns governance guardrails
Aligns security posture
Prevents fragmentation across services
Keeps the system coherent
This role isn’t about writing feature code.
It’s about preventing long-term entropy.
2️⃣ The System-Minded Dev Lead (The Bridge)
This is the rare one.
Can code deeply
Understands infra and pipelines
Sees failure modes
Challenges architecture when needed
Translates patterns into real implementation
Most companies either have pure coders or detached architects.
The bridge role is what keeps everything aligned.
3️⃣ AI-Augmented Senior Engineers (Execution Core)
Strong engineers who:
Use AI for scaffolding
Use AI for test generation
Use AI for refactoring
Use AI for documentation
AI accelerates them.
It does not replace them.
If architecture is weak, AI amplifies chaos.
If architecture is strong, AI amplifies velocity.
4️⃣ Platform / DevOps Stability Layer
Automation isn’t optional anymore.
Infrastructure as Code
Observability
Deployment discipline
Guardrails baked into pipelines
In the AI age, governance must be automated.
5️⃣ Product Clarity
Even now, and especially now:
Someone must define value.
Someone must kill unnecessary features.
Someone must prioritize tradeoffs.
AI doesn’t own accountability.
The Real Shift
The AI era doesn’t eliminate roles.
It reshapes composition.
You don’t need more people.
You need more system thinkers.
You need layered thinking.
You need AI literacy.
A small, system-aware, AI-literate team with clear boundaries can outperform a much larger traditional team.
That’s the dream team.
Curious how others are structuring their app teams in this new era.