[Mandatum]

Honestly I think the best way to address this, is to call it out before it becomes an issue.

Tell them why you're still in an engineering role.

There is a reason, and some folks are just bad at their jobs, have no people skills or their skills stalled decades ago and they checked out.

Others, like yourself, are still interested in engineering and have no interest in management.

You're at an age where you will always be put on equal footing or above those you interview with BECAUSE of your age. Use it.

[duxup]

Yup, you have to sort of go on offense I think and say "I've got experience, that's an asset, here is why."