The phone screen was pretty intense. They started with a quick intro, then jumped straight into the technical stuff. The first problem was straightforward but required some careful thinking to get the logic right. After that, it ramped up fast—optimization, edge cases, debugging—all while explaining my thought process in detail. They were definitely assessing not just my coding ability, but how I approach problems and adapt when things aren’t obvious. It felt like a real-time systems check: problem-solving, time management, and communication all being evaluated at once. By the end, I was wiped, but I think it went well overall. Definitely no fluff in this one—it was all substance.