Counter argument: Not everything a frontend engineer wants should be available via one API call. Particularly if your API is available to 3rd parties.

API design is a skill, but if you are taking a UI first approach, then make it a useful endpoint for EVERYONE, not just your own frontend team!

Even as a team lead, my main language these days is markdown

I choose to believe he was playing 4D chess, rather than a completely clueless prompt jockey. The reddit thread was an interesting read too: www.reddit.com/r/Programmer...

It's highly dependent on the person. I try and structure it so that they have a few sprints of simpler tasks/bugs interspersed with riding shotgun with a senior engineer. Even with simpler bugs; get the to go away and poke about, then come back to a senior with a plan of how they want to implement.