After the screening interview, there was an initial pair programming session. The interviewer gave me two coding options, and I chose to implement (n^m mod y) without using libraries or pre-built functions. We heavily iterated through optimization strategies, focusing on achieving the best complexity. The interview was pleasant; the interviewer was very present, and we collaborated throughout the entire session.

Following this, the recruiter should invite you to schedule five interviews, ideally covering diverse topics such as data structures, concurrency, parallel programming, and API design.

You might get the impression that each interview should focus on a single topic, but the process was not as organized.

Overall, four out of five interviews included a mix of behavioral (STAR) questions and small coding challenges. The last interview was a chat with the hiring manager.

To summarize the experience, some interviewers were more relaxed and possessed better soft skills, while others were quite stiff and did not manage time as effectively.

The entire experience felt rather old-school. The challenges, the lack of a design session, and the absence of higher-abstraction exercises or clear preparation guidance from the recruiter contributed to this feeling. However, the process was still very professional and responsible.