The interview process started with an initial recruiter screening, followed by a 60-minute live coding interview. The technical round focused on a fundraising-related CSV processing task and building a leaderboard-style output. The task itself was not necessarily complex, but the process felt poorly structured and stressful. I was asked to share my screen, but there was no clear prior warning about screen-sharing permissions/setup, which caused delays at the beginning. The live coding format felt rigid and outdated, especially because AI tools were explicitly prohibited, even though the real work for a senior engineer today involves problem decomposition, judgment, code review, validation, and responsible use of tools. The prompt involved domain-specific fundraising terminology such as designations, donors, and amounts. The expected data structure and output could have been clarified much better. I felt the interview tested manual recall and performance under pressure more than senior engineering judgment or real-world problem-solving. Overall, the experience felt impersonal and one-sided. The process did not give me confidence in the company’s hiring culture or communication style.

7 rounds. Made it to 5 out of 7. 1. Recruiter 2. PM Talk 3. Coding Interview (easy enough, though I didn't complete it all the way. ) 4. System Design Interview 5. CTO Talk Everyone was nice. Think I failed cause the CTO was looking for someone with much more deeper experience.