Crossword Genius

Lead engineer shaped era (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

spearhead

'lead' is the definition.
(I know that spearhead is a type of lead)

'engineer shaped era' is the wordplay.
'engineer' indicates an anagram.
'shaped'+'era'='shapedera'
'shapedera' is an anagram of 'SPEARHEAD'.

(Other definitions for spearhead that I've seen before include "Leading force in a military attack" , "Group leading an attack" , "tip on manual weapon" , "those at the forefront" , "Advanced troops" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
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