The interview process was very time-consuming. Total of 5 interviews, and 2 different take home home assessments. It started with an HR screen, followed by a short 45-minute technical take-home, a systems design interview, a hiring manager interview, and then a longer take-home assessment that was supposed to take 1–2 hours but realistically took closer to 4–5. Not too difficult, typical data engineering stuff, python sql, docker, APIs, etc..., but just a bit time consuming. The final step was a two-hour interview split between discussing the take-home with a staff engineer and another conversation with the hiring manager. Throughout the process, the feedback I received was overwhelmingly positive — the team even mentioned my take-home was flawless and there wasn’t much to critique. I was led to believe I was a final candidate, but after a week of silence, I received a short message from the recruiter saying they had decided to hire someone at a more junior level due to budget changes. Overall, the interview process was professional and technically fair, but the experience was frustrating given the significant time investment and lack of follow-through after such positive feedback. Pros: Engaged team, thoughtful technical challenges, strong communication early in the process. Cons: Excessive time commitment, poor closure, and last-minute change in hiring scope.