You’re totally right that there is now more complexity, especially around tooling and deployment. We have pipelines now, Docker containers, things that just aren’t simple and direct like a plain HTML+CSS website
However in my experience the best “front-end engineers” are designers. One of the best I’ve ever worked with called himself “Devsigner.” He was a passionate Android developer who knew the platform conventions better than the designers did, he was able to identify tiny flaws in designs (incorrect font weights, inconsistent padding, adherence to platform conventions), as well as larger flaws in the UX, for example, how to consistently and intuitively navigate between screens, when and where to place navigation elements, etc
Development wise, he was able to devise the app architecture clearly. Write end-to-end mock servers to perform UI testing, build the dev ops pipeline, manage app releases, and implement the UI using best practices
I am the same sort of designer/developer, and I expect that many people are capable of doing both things like this. They just need the opportunity and positive feedback to get there
Websites are more complex, but I expect people to be capable of learning complex things and to be aware of, and apply, design principles
However in my experience the best “front-end engineers” are designers. One of the best I’ve ever worked with called himself “Devsigner.” He was a passionate Android developer who knew the platform conventions better than the designers did, he was able to identify tiny flaws in designs (incorrect font weights, inconsistent padding, adherence to platform conventions), as well as larger flaws in the UX, for example, how to consistently and intuitively navigate between screens, when and where to place navigation elements, etc
Development wise, he was able to devise the app architecture clearly. Write end-to-end mock servers to perform UI testing, build the dev ops pipeline, manage app releases, and implement the UI using best practices
I am the same sort of designer/developer, and I expect that many people are capable of doing both things like this. They just need the opportunity and positive feedback to get there
Websites are more complex, but I expect people to be capable of learning complex things and to be aware of, and apply, design principles