I initially applied for the position in February and unfortunately did not hear back for several months. It wasn’t until I networked with a recruiter in May that the process finally began to move forward. From there, the interview process was lengthy and highly structured, involving multiple phone screens, a series of Zoom interviews. Additionally, the use of Brighthire AI recordings as part of the evaluation process was a surprise and a mild turn off, but it was easy enough to opt out of that after getting the automated notice about it. While the manager and recruiter I spoke with were courteous and professional, the prolonged timeline and lack of initial communication made the experience feel disjointed. Another notable aspect was the company's return-to-office (RTO) policy—at the time, they had gone through layoffs and within a year or two after had pushed for operating at approximately 70% RTO, with a goal to reach 80%. This was especially interesting considering that the hiring manager for the role remained fully remote, which raised some questions around consistency and flexibility in the policy, along with integrity of leadership and forethought; especially after layoffs due to financial constraints, my first move would not be to be buying more office space to accommodate a forced return-to-office. Finally, after asking questions about the RTO and offering to followup with technical diagrams, I was ghosted similar to other candidates. I had to followup with the recruiter to find out they had moved on to other candidates with "more experience". Overall, while the role and team were intriguing, the extended process, mixed messaging around RTO, and disjointed communication left me with a somewhat negative impression. I am hopeful senior leadership is able to look inward and use this as a learning opportunity, and wish them all the best in their future endeavors.