Chief of staff Ron Klain happens to have experience dealing with Ebola as the new administration prepares to take over responsibility for the pandemic. John Kerry's involvement as a climate envoy underlines its status as a top priority. Janet Yellen signals that there would be a competent chief at the Treasury.
The first hurdle is the low bar of having better ethical standards and governing processes than the outgoing Trump Administration.
The nominations of experienced former Obama-Biden deputies - Secretary of State Antony Blinken, National Security adviser Jake Sullivan, National Intelligence director Avril Haines, UN ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, and Homeland Security secretary Alejandro Mayorkas - suggest a more planned, strategic approach and an emphasis on multilateral diplomacy and institutions.
A more rules-based, orthodox route does not guarantee success or fewer missteps. These are policy people who were involved in the outreaches to Iran and Cuba but also America's ongoing wars.
As with his selection of Kamala Harris as his running mate, Biden is so far going with people from the mid-stream of the Democratic Party who nevertheless still bring a frisson of reform.
Harris would be the first female and first person of colour to be vice-president.
With many roles to be decided, at least a dozen people already named are women and a similar number are people of colour. The communications team is all female. Yellen would be the first female Treasury secretary if confirmed.
None of that means they will automatically be trailblazers in how they do their jobs, but it's hugely significant. Representation, recognition and acceptance matters. Other people looking on feel encouraged. It also means there's a wider range of perspectives and life experiences among the top officials.
At a time of great impatience among many Democratic voters for changes - if not great expectations of achieving them - it's all welcome. But the pressure for solid policy results will remain.
Biden is trying to thread the needle between the pragmatic and progressive wings of his party and is constrained by tight numbers in the Senate. That means senators are unlikely to be in contention for jobs and middle-of-the-road nominees have a better chance of being confirmed.
The chances of former presidential candidates such as Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Amy Klobuchar, Pete Buttigieg and Andrew Yang joining the administration are now looking a lot less likely.
The early choices are unflashy, a working group rather than a team of rivals.
