I see your point but disagree. Engineering is about constraints. Time, materials, labor, scope.

The “evil” of premature optimization is that it’s a misapplication of priority. If I have an acute medical problem that needs attention, it’s not the right time to talk about chloresterol and statins, get my broken leg set.

There’s always a tension between engineering management who needs to deliver a solution to the business and engineers who want to deliver a beautiful object.

> I don't understand why you need training on your code base to design a cache format

Because anyone willing to come in just to design your cache format is going to expect payment that is many multiples more than the engineers you already cannot afford? Long-term employees cost less, which brings them closer to being affordable, but you have to be able to keep them busy for long periods of time to realize that reduction in cost. A engineer who doesn't understand your codebase isn't going to be useful for very long.