> You can actually make a very comfortable career of Senior and Staff by learning to identify this kind of work/system and proposing ways to simplify it.
I've typically worked in SRE and platform engineering work and that's where I've gotten exposed to these kinds of Rube Goldberg machines. Make a short list of them when you find them and then use them as a hit list during "cost cutting". Most people don't want to touch these systems because they look big and expansive and generally "work". They're just very poorly optimized.
Dare I say, any time I see a function as a service my brain immediately drifts to inspecting the cost implications of said process.
Most large companies. There is a stark difference between the distinguished engineers and the tier below them in terms of asking people to stop doing things badly.