I'm looking for a single-word adjective that means either "the best at what you do" or "the most experienced at what you do." If forced to pick one of those two perspectives, I would choose the former. I will be using it in the following list:
- Cadet
- Junior
- Senior
- Veteran
- This is the word I'm looking for
Example sentence: John is a ______ mechanic.
The word does not require a military context, despite my above list having a military feel to it.