This is a fine way. I’ll say that the difference between a senior and a principal is that the senior might snicker but the principal knows that there’s a chance the code was written by a founder.

And if the Principal is good, they should stand up and say exactly why the code is bad. If there's a reason to laugh because it is cliche bad, they should say so.

If someone gave me code with

if (x = 7) { ... } as part of a C eval.

Yeah, you'll get a sarcastic response back because I know it is testing code.

What I think people ignore is that personality matters. Especially at the higher levels. If you are a Principal SWE you have to be able to stand up to a CEO and say "No, sir. I think you are wrong. This is why." In a diplomatic way. Or sometimes. Less than diplomatic, depending on the CEO.

One manager that hired me was trying to figure me out. So he said (and I think he was honest at the time). "You got the job as long an you aren't an axe murderer."

To which I replied deadpan: "I hope I hid the axe well." (To be clear to all reading, I have never killed someone, nevermind with an axe! Hi FBI, NSA, CIA and pals!)

Got the job, and we got along great, I operated as his right hand.