I imagine there is a pretty big pool of skilled senior engineers that cannot pass stereotypical leetcode interviews, especially at the more competitive companie

I imagine there is a pretty big pool of skilled senior engineers that cannot pass stereotypical leetcode interviews, especially at the more competitive companies. That's something you can tap into. Not all senior engineers make huge salaries. Senior engs with decades of experience at many non-tech companies might make slightly more than a junior or mid level engineer at a mid to top tier tech company. For every elite senior engineer at a competitive elite SV tech company getting 300k+ before hitting the 10 year mark, you have many senior engineers at boring non-tech companies that might be lucky to hit 200k when they retire after decades of work. (Although it could be argued that such senior engineers are not quite as skilled or "senior" as a senior engineer at a tech company - disclaimer - I speak as a "senior engineer" at a non-tech company myself)