After initial discussions with the recruiter via email, I completed a 1-hour technical screening with approximately 10 questions, followed by 5 rounds with the hiring manager, external partner, Product Owner, and Product Manager.

One of the rounds was scheduled as a whiteboarding session with an Engineering Manager, but he provided no introduction, showed no familiarity with my resume, and asked random engineering questions instead of conducting the planned whiteboarding exercise. This contrasted with the other well-prepared interviewers who conducted structured conversations about the role and my enterprise architecture experience.

Then came an automated rejection a week later.

Tell me the time when you found the problem before your manager could find it.

Describe a situation where you had to recover from an architectural mistake or misjudgment.

Tell me the time when you managed innovation with optimization.