Search systems are usually an evolving pipeline of components that are tuned and evolve over time and that build up to a cohesive experience. In particular, the key to success in search is building processes for evaluation and tuning into the product and development cycles. A search system architect should think about processes and metrics, not just technologies.
I’ve worked with thousands of developers in my career, and, while I agree that the very few rockstar developers I’ve had the opportunity to build software with produce an extraordinary amount of product quickly, they are also very rare. In addition, even though I hate to admit it, they are sometimes quite difficult to work with.
My gut tells me that a 10x contributor’s benefits are more than wiped out by .1x culture and leadership. Whereas a 10x culture applies to all of the folks, even if it just gets the full 1x+ out of them.