Why is PE so top-heavy?

For example, one of the megafunds I looked at has 5 associates & senior associates, and 9 VP+s . Is this the norm? And if so, what do these senior people do?

I would have expected there to be at least the same amount of associates as higher ups in a group so curious to learn more

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PE

Associate 2 in PE - LBOs

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Why is PE so top-heavy?

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