I concur, switch jobs. It may just be that you've become the big fish in a small pond (or even a large pond, but just at that company). No better way to make you realize what all you don't know except by switching jobs.
I've been "the goto guy" at a few places, usually just ended up that way over time, and when I switched jobs, suddenly it felt like I didn't know anything, or at least had a lot of catching up to do.
Like I was a SME at my previous company, that got pulled into a bunch of meetings, and was often brought up and thanked in multiple town hall meetings for various projects I worked on.
At my new job, it was obvious that everyone was using technology and architecture that I was never exposed to and I had a lot to catch up on, and I still am. I am definitely not a SME here. Although I have been on one project just long enough that I will start helping onboard and overseeing some junior engineers soon, it sounds like.
Also, I'm smart and can pick up things quickly, but I would never consider myself a 10x engineer.
Considering that the loneliness seems to be a byproduct of feeling like the smartest person in the room, I think it could be a good perspective shift. There are always smarter people and harder problems.
I've been "the goto guy" at a few places, usually just ended up that way over time, and when I switched jobs, suddenly it felt like I didn't know anything, or at least had a lot of catching up to do.
Like I was a SME at my previous company, that got pulled into a bunch of meetings, and was often brought up and thanked in multiple town hall meetings for various projects I worked on.
At my new job, it was obvious that everyone was using technology and architecture that I was never exposed to and I had a lot to catch up on, and I still am. I am definitely not a SME here. Although I have been on one project just long enough that I will start helping onboard and overseeing some junior engineers soon, it sounds like.
Also, I'm smart and can pick up things quickly, but I would never consider myself a 10x engineer.