Interviews consist of an initial talk with an outsourced recruiter, followed by an on-site, marathonic interview with an HR person who has barely any idea of what they are doing, other than a sales pitch about collaborative working (typical cheap stuff).

Then, an interview with a rather young, enthusiastic engineer who has barely enough experience and brings theoretical examples of problems rather than actual hands-on experience.

Finally, an interview with the hiring manager, who has many old-school ideas yet valuable experience, but too little time to solve all the problems of bringing up a department from scratch.

Some miscommunication leads to very high expectations for the hire, with hints that there will be long, unpaid overtime, with the virtual promise of unlimited PTO.

The positive outcome of the interview hints at an offer, but as they expect someone to give their life for less, apparently, one has a high price tag that just leads to circles about whether or not they will either send an offer for lower (without knowing their benefits or other compensation) or just a thank you for your time after 3 months of little to no communication (ghosting).

Can you design something without a concept?