I think they are really testing the ability for a new developer to get a build machine set up and running so that they can check out, modify, test, and check in

I think they are really testing the ability for a new developer to get a build machine set up and running so that they can check out, modify, test, and check in code. This is as much of a test of Cheeseburger as it is of the new hire (or their bladder). In the past I have worked at or consulted for places where doing so was a black art that could easily occupy a week or more of a new hire's time. Most small companies had a single "expert" and the rest of the developers would copy code, libraries, and settings from one machine to another in cargo-cult fashion.