MidLifeXis wrote:

Have you ever tried to teach an engineer? They just want to use what will get their job done. Some are even vehemently against some techie telling them not to do something. Usually, they are pretty good, but there are some that just don't think they need to change.

Abigail-II wrote:

I am an engineer. Highly educated as well. And yes, I have trained all kinds of tech people, including engineers.

Abigail, I hear what you're saying, and I agree with it in general, but I don't think your answer fits the question asked.

The question was more about difficult engineers, especially when some "software weenie" beneath their station tells them why it's the engineer's fault the script takes forever. Besides the explicit technical question, there's the implicitly political one about dealing with unfun induhviduals. [I didn't notice if anyone responded about legacy code, blaming a 3rd party, and trying to repair the damage.]

To me, the OP's question, and MidLifeXis's response, seem to be asking:

In those situations where folks in the OP's situation can't tell the engineer to smarten up without earning significant repurcussions, "How do I make my script run faster today?"

There have been some useful answers about specifics, and you and others have weighed in about the foolishness of getting into that position in the first place. I hope we can all avoid the level where the entire discussion brings to mind quips about The Helicopter Pilot in a Seattle Fog.

So, to redirect the question...

How should the OP respond to the offending individual and others like him in this case?

-QM
--
Quantum Mechanics: The dreams stuff is made of