Decision note
Before hiring more engineers, make sure engineering is the problem.
Headcount is one possible response to slow delivery. It is not a diagnosis.
The operating view
Reduce the decision before increasing the technology.
Find the constraint
Requirements churn, unclear ownership, release friction, architecture debt and decision latency can all make a larger team slower.
Measure the system
Look at lead time, rework, queueing, escaped defects and the time work spends waiting for decisions.
Change the operating model first
If the problem is governance or flow, adding people increases coordination cost without increasing throughput.
Hire when capacity is truly the constraint
Once the system is visible, headcount becomes a deliberate investment rather than the default answer.