Almost every company that I know is looking for engineers like this. Bad recruiters call them “rockstars” and “ninjas”. This article talks about some of the history and myths associated with the concept.
https://medium.com/about-work/6aedba30ecfe
I think they most certainly do exist in engineering and in other professions as well, though it may be the most explicit in engineering. But it is a pretty elusive concept which is not easily measured and it’s often used to justify really destructive behavior. I would classify someone as “10x” who is has enough depth and breadth to be able to make connections and see perspectives that others can’t. It’s not the efficiency of a specific algorithm or a productivity multiplier even though that might be a consequence. It’s the ability to see a problem in a different light and come up with a novel solution that results in improvements that are measured in orders of magnitude.
P.S. This is also a relevant post by John Cook.
http://www.johndcook.com/blog/2013/09/17/to-err-is-human-to-catch-an-error-shows-expertise/
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