[sativallday]

Definitely useful to be able to demonstrate you've implemented, tested, deployed, and maintained some sort of software on your own.

Also being able to talk through design decisions and tradeoffs from an engineering point of view is useful.

Finally, I would advise that if you are applying to a position through a recruiter, stop asking for senior level positions. Ask for staff level positions instead, you'll receive more autonomy and a higher pay as well.