I suspect this is mainly because the whole hiring process has been internationalized, and 'Software Engineer' seems to have become the common international phra

I suspect this is mainly because the whole hiring process has been internationalized, and 'Software Engineer' seems to have become the common international phrase for 'anybody who has the ability to author software'. 15 years ago it would have been "Softwareentwickler" or "Programmierer" (optionally with the requirement of a degree in computer science, which - funny enough - also isn't excplicitely called a 'science' in Germany, but simply 'informatics'), even though the job description would be exactly the same as today.