I very much think this is limited to the startup / work fast and break things style of companies. Always work available for sr. people at large established companies, especially fortune 500. Specifically companies where tech is not the core business product, many of them are attempting to modernize their systems. They pay pretty well too; not Google / Amazon level but on a pure salary basis many probably pay comparable to Microsoft without the shares of course. They do have a good 401k match though. A good salary for 95% of tech people.
I am early 40's and have had no issue finding work and am currently interviewing others to come work with my group in a solution architect / tech lead style role and they are all my age. I have never interviewed for a job and not gotten an offer, regardless of age; with that said I'm not interviewing at startups or places I feel really wouldn't allow me a family life. I get the offers not because I'm incredible, I'm not, but because I know my lane and skill set and stick to it.
It was even easier for me to find work at smaller companies the older I got. There were always companies that really needed someone who could help them mature their processes, who they could put out in front of customers, who knew how to work with sales, who they could send off-site and talk to their customers tech departments (B2B) etc.
It got to the point where my “interviews” were more just sitting down with directors/CTOs and talking like adults about how I would help them solve their real world business problems. I haven’t done a coding interview in over a decade even though I have been hands on all that time - across five jobs
After some frustrating experiences applying and interviewing for jobs at the kind of startup-sized companies where I’ve spent my entire career, and fearing that my age might be a factor (I’m about to turn 40), I applied on a job at a Fortune 500 and had an offer a few days later.
The pay, benefits, and work/life balance are excellent, to the point that I have some regret over not exploring this avenue sooner.
Oh, and now I’m younger than most of my coworkers again. I don’t think ageism is a thing here.
I am early 40's and have had no issue finding work and am currently interviewing others to come work with my group in a solution architect / tech lead style role and they are all my age. I have never interviewed for a job and not gotten an offer, regardless of age; with that said I'm not interviewing at startups or places I feel really wouldn't allow me a family life. I get the offers not because I'm incredible, I'm not, but because I know my lane and skill set and stick to it.