Overall, the interview process was good and well designed. The recruiter explained the process in detail and answered all my questions. The interview process was:

Phone screening -> Coding -> Boxing Day (coding -> Behavioral -> System design -> Leadership -> wrap).

At the end of the process, the recruiter reached out after 2 days and said I didn't make it. Later, on a call, the reason for me not being successful was because the position was filled internally.

I was disappointed, not because I didn't make it, but because of the time and effort I put into this, only to find out that the position was filled INTERNALLY. If they already knew that it was always going to be an internal position, I don't know why you would open such a position for an external candidate in the first place. Either there is a disconnect between the recruiting team and hiring managers, or they simply do not care about candidates' time and effort. Either way, it doesn't reflect well on the company.

My only suggestion to other candidates will be to be careful and ask in the beginning if the position is TRULY external before you embark on a long journey.

NDA Leetcode Standard distributed system design