> The new company interviewed me. They can decide if I'm qualified or not.
And they may decide you're not qualified, because they thought you lied when you didn't. Lying is one of those things that's often an instant dealbreaker.
> If they can't tell the difference between an "associate" and a software engineer I'd say I dodge a bullet then.
They very likely can do that, but if they think you're lying for some reason, that doesn't matter.
It's totally plausible that some shitty software engineers have trouble getting hired and may settle for other work in the interim. If they're unethical, then they may lie about that. One or two interviews may not detect a lot of issues someone like that may have.
> The new company interviewed me. They can decide if I'm qualified or not.
And they may decide you're not qualified, because they thought you lied when you didn't. Lying is one of those things that's often an instant dealbreaker.