> I really ask myself where those top engineers that make it through Google's famous hiring practices land.

Can I question the quality of said hiring practices?

I have been rejected for a project that was starting from scratch on something exactly like I had been building for 6 years at a competitor, based on such famous hiring practices (not at Google though). I was literally more experienced than the whole team on what they were building.

Because you hire people who are really good at leetcode doesn't necessarily mean that you always get the best candidates for the job?