I've been a developer for 35 years, working for small and medium-sized companies, typically with small IT departments of a dozen or fewer developers. I'm incredibly good at what I do and make about $170k/year, but I'm pretty much capped out. My current employer has made it clear that they won't go any higher (and the CTO says he doesn't earn that much). I've been passively looking for over a year. Few positions with my skill sets pay more than $130k and I haven't found any that are higher than what I'm making.

But entry-level positions at Big Tech companies are near what I'm making and even 1-2 years of experience is higher than I'm making. I don't have experience the specific tech stacks that any of the major Big Tech companies use, but I can easily learn them. I'm not too proud to do entry-level work to start. I just want to have an opportunity to prove myself, make a difference, and move up.

But the Big Tech companies don't seem interested. They cross off their boxes and if you don't have the exact tech stack they use, they aren't interested. How do I get their attention and get an opportunity?