Round 1 - Chat with HR: Standard introductory call. Professional and informative.
Round 2 - Chat with Head of Technology: A good, productive conversation. We discussed their tech stack, current challenges, and the goals of the role. The Head of Technology was sharp and engaging.
Round 3 - Take-home test: A well-designed task related to their product. They provided feedback within a few working days as promised.
Round 4 - Final Stage (Behavioral & Technical): This is where the process became disorganised.
Logistical Confusion: I was initially told this round would be in the office. However, I later received two separate Google Meet invites for a behavioral and a technical interview on the same day. I sent a follow-up email to clarify whether the interviews were remote or in-person but received no reply. On the day of the interview, the behavioral interviewers mentioned they had been expecting me in the office. This lack of clear communication was unprofessional and created unnecessary stress.
Behavioral Interview: We proceeded with the call remotely. It became apparent that the two interviewers had not seen my CV or my portfolio website. The interview was meant to be based on the company's core values, but they presented a "new" set of values that were different from the ones publicly listed on their website, which felt unprepared. Despite this, the conversation itself was pleasant.
Technical Interview: This round included a system design question. The scenario given ("build a UI with a large dataset and visualizations") is a common problem that, with over a decade of experience, I've solved many times. While this type of question might be effective for evaluating junior or mid-level candidates, it's not ideal for assessing a senior architect's ability to handle novel, complex challenges. It's difficult to showcase a deep, collaborative problem-solving process when the solution is already a well-established pattern. The constant interruptions from the product manager also made it challenging to articulate a coherent architectural vision.