I feel like it's more complementary then that. You need the PhDs to develop core theories and technology, and you need the young engineers and devs to understan

I feel like it's more complementary then that. You need the PhDs to develop core theories and technology, and you need the young engineers and devs to understand it enough to apply it in other domains. Both can be described as doing "cutting-edge DL work" but just in different domains. And, the young devs don't need to try and catch up, they need to be generalists.