Frankly, I think if you asked the difficult engineer, he'd say we're also stuck in a culture of live and let live vs. excellence, and that he's on the side of excellence, and his teammates just aren't good enough.
replyTwo paths.
replyGive him what he wants (your seat) if you truly just want to clock in there and work in peace as you've indicated.
If you want more than that, it may be time to move on.
Unless something changes,
reply$Asshole is the manager anyway,
if he’s being tolerated.