I applied online. The process took 4 weeks. I applied through the website and was quickly invited by a recruiter for an initial interview where we talked about my most recent experiences and what I am looking for. She explained their hybrid work system, which is one week in the São Paulo office and seven weeks working remotely, and she outlined the upcoming stages:

• A take-home coding test with up to five days to submit
• An architecture stage featuring a classic whiteboard with two interviewers
• A pairing session combined with a culture stage, where the idea is to extend the initially developed code with other developers
• A conversation with a leader
• An offer

I completed the first two stages. In the first one, they send a problem to solve with a detailed description and test scenarios. It isn't difficult; it's just a matter of following good practices with SOLID and DDD and writing the proper tests to solve what is requested. In the architecture stage, they present a problem on a whiteboard, and you need to provide a solution by stating which components you would use, how they communicate, and the tradeoffs, while drawing on the screen. The problem in question was to replace a third-party service with a manageable service of theirs to send files to Mastercard.

They make several recommendations before the stages so you can prepare. Some of the recommendations are:

• Don't be afraid to say you don't know
• Bring suggestions and opinions regarding the solution
• Think of the exercise more as a form of collaboration with the interviewers
• Don't worry about reaching the end of the exercise or finishing as quickly as possible
• The most important thing is the process of building the solution

The architecture stage does not necessarily evaluate a candidate's knowledge of architecture or simulate an architectural discussion in a normal work environment because:

• In the interview, you have forty minutes to solve a problem you have never seen in your life, whereas in everyday work, everyone studies the problem before entering the meeting to discuss the solution
• The interview discussion will determine your future at that company. If you choose one DBMS instead of another, you are out, whereas in work there is space for other people to make suggestions
• If you don't mention a technology in the interview, they assume you don't know it, even without asking you directly
• If they were actually evaluating the construction and collaboration process, I would have been approved since I only had positive feedback in that aspect

Talk about your recent experiences.