I'm not so sure. My understanding is the big tech companies hire engineers on a rolling basis and basically take everyone they like. They're not approaching it

I'm not so sure. My understanding is the big tech companies hire engineers on a rolling basis and basically take everyone they like. They're not approaching it for the frame of satisfying a requisition for a specific role with the best of the N applicants for it on X date, they're picking up talent as quickly as possible and then sorting out where to place people after the hire/no-hire decision is made.