My experience with the embedded world is that the engineers and managers working in that field tend to be older. They're from the era when it was common to get a job after a casual chat. About how old was the manager who hired you?
I got a contract gig with an embedded development house a few years back after a couple hour interview - more of a chat. The guys hiring me were in their early 60s.
Can confirm. I had two jobs in the past which could be considered embedded development, and got both of them after casual (but technical) chats. The first one converted to employment after a 6 month trial period as a contractor. No whiteboard hazing, no leetcode, no take-home "challenges". And the average age at both shops definitely skewed older.
I also got the impression that there weren't a huge torrent of engineers with assembly and JTAG debugging experience banging down their doors, which probably helps.
I got a contract gig with an embedded development house a few years back after a couple hour interview - more of a chat. The guys hiring me were in their early 60s.