I should have explained that I am thinking of a pure software engineering job. I.e., the kind that you can apply for if you're smart and can code, but don't have a research background that jives with the kind of research that Google is doing. If you want that kind of job you're competing against a lot of very smart people who've studied very hard for the interview process.
If you have an ML PhD or something like that, it may be a different story.
An ML PhD will not help you pass leetcode tests. Completely different knowledge base.
Yes indeed. I assume Google often hire ML PhDs for their ML expertise and not just their coding skills. But I have no first-hand experience.