In the non-US site that I was a part of, there was a separate category of positions whose job descriptions included a very specific "advanced" skillset intersec

In the non-US site that I was a part of, there was a separate category of positions whose job descriptions included a very specific "advanced" skillset intersection, for example, resource profiling + React, or OS internals + DevOps. Internally, they had been earmarked for specific teams in a dire need for these specific competencies, and it was apparent that the circuit was very heavy on that and little else - a lot of the people selected were good at what they did but did not have an academic degree and very obviously did not "speak LeetCode". I consider the fact that they still made it though as a tacit acknowledgment that no candidates were obtainable who would both pass LC and have the crucial specific skills. This might have been a local talent pool phenomenon, but I would be surprised if the corporate had granted an exception only to a single "colony", however important.