no one thinks that because it's pr speak. i've never met anyone deterred by "brilliant" or "ninja" or "10x" or etc.
I'm deterred from such job ads. But in fact you're right, it's not because of what I wrote above. Instead, it's because I've found a high correlation between those job ad keywords and dev work doing nothing but CRUD apps under the micromanaging eye of dysfunctional management.
But I tried to explain that in a more rational, diplomatic way, rather than just assume his company sucks.
Yes, such terms in a job description - or in my case, in initial contract meetings - are red flags for me. Red enough to either never apply or show myself out with some excuse. Because my definition of "brilliant" may not match their definition of "brilliant" in terms of capability or efficiency, and I don't want to find out how high the expectations are after the agreement's signed.
These people have a hard time because they might have started programming from a young age and have been learning and refining their skill nonstop for over a decade but they never got a lucky break in their careers.
How about just a "solid, hard-working senior developer"? When you say "brilliant", most good, competent developers think of a truly 1 in 1000 brilliant developer we know, and think of how short we fall from that.
In truth, unless you're doing some kind of advanced machine learning or cutting edge software work, you likely don't need a brilliant developer. And indeed, looking at your site, you probably aren't doing anything of the sort.
Instead, a company like yours requires a dependable, competent, team-player.
Why not ask for that?
Edit: Jesus H Christ, is this really that controversial to merit 4 downvotes in the first 5 minutes? OK, have at it all you brilliant devs. I remember being in my early 20s, too...
Also, have you geniuses considered that the job post above is addressing a man who's a bit down on his luck at the moment? Perhaps putting up a post asking for a "brilliant" developer isn't the best approach? Unless, of course, the OP isn't the actual target of the comment, but instead he's advertising to HN at large (which is my guess).