There is no proven method for sorting a pile of candidates such that the absolute best engineers will float to the top [for the sake of argument] -- yes, there

There is no proven method for sorting a pile of candidates such that the absolute best engineers will float to the top [for the sake of argument] -- yes, there is a method, if you want to find out the top few best engineers. Look at their experience. Jeff Dean, Linus, John Carmak. I think my algorithm fulfills the letter of your search criteria by finding a few 10X engineers in an ocean of regular people. Unfortunately, the 10X (or arguably, 100X in this case) engineers may not be enough or not be interested in the job opening you have.