What makes a truly great software engineer? Is it the number of lines of code per day? Is it how she masters that one language? Is it a positive attitude? Is it...
I thinks what sets out a great developer is not in what she knows, but rather in what she puts out. Does she know how to move things forward, or to simplify: how to complete things. Does she know how to empower other team members to do the same?
While some companies seek to hire rockstars, I'd rather hire consistent, willing-to-spend-hours-of-hard-work, curious, knows-how-to-meet-a-deadline, wants-to-learn, knows-how-to-ship kind of engineers.