Instinct Science Full Stack Software Engineer interview questions

While everyone I interacted with was friendly and professional, the overall interview process felt disorganized and unnecessarily drawn out, resulting in a significant time commitment from both candidates and the internal team. The process included: 30-minute recruiter screen Online coding test 45-minute technical interview 1-hour technical interview with another team member 1-hour live coding session 1-hour system design interview 1-hour interview with the CTO I initially applied for a position aligned with three years of experience, but midway through the process I was informed I was being considered for a different role. Despite asking multiple times, I never received a clear explanation of what this new role involved. I was ultimately rejected after the system design interview, which felt more like an interrogation than a collaborative discussion. The interviewer frequently shifted requirements, and the lack of visuals or whiteboarding made it more of a volatile open conversation. The topics were extremely broad, and it seemed the goal was to expose unfamiliar areas rather than assess depth in relevant skills. For a role requiring three years of experience, the expectations felt unrealistic. Overall, the experience was the most frustrating interview process I’ve encountered. It spanned several months, lacked transparency, and felt unfocused and poorly structured. There appeared to be a disconnect between the role originally posted and what the company was actually hiring for.