The interview process was lengthy:

• Online IQ test
• Recruiter phone screen
• Take-home challenge
• CoderPad coding interview
• Systems design interview
• CTO interview
• Bar raiser

I applied online and two weeks later was contacted to take an IQ test. It was a 15-minute test with 50 questions covering math, patterns, vocabulary, and logic—similar to any standardized test.

Shortly after, a recruiter contacted me for a 30-minute phone interview to discuss my experience and the role.

I was given a take-home challenge: building a web app using a REST API for photos to create a photo album. It was fairly simple, primarily focusing on SSR and pagination.

Two weeks later, I had my "on-sites" via Google Hangouts. The first was a CoderPad coding interview with a director. The question involved string manipulation and pattern matching. He was kind and helpful when I got stuck, but I had the impression he wasn't eager to be there.

The second was a systems design interview with another director. He was very easygoing. He asked about my background and front-end technologies. The interview involved him displaying a Figma mockup from their design team and asking how I would design and implement the front-end system. This was my favorite part; he was engaging and fun to talk to.

The last on-site interview was with the CTO. He briefly asked about my experience and projects, then primarily wanted me to ask him questions about the company. I appreciated his down-to-earth and genuine personality. He seemed very smart and like a great leader. The only odd moment was when he mentioned at the start of the call that he had limited time.

The recruiter then called to discuss the interviews and my interest. I was then informed I would be contacted regarding the next and final round, a "bar-raiser" (a behavioral interview with someone outside the engineering team). I did not advance to this stage.

Objectively, it was a good interview experience, though a bit too long. I don't agree with the IQ test requirement, but the interview was fair overall. Subjectively, it was 'meh.' I wish the on-sites had been more personable. Their New York team is small, and I understand they might be interviewing many candidates, but I felt they didn't genuinely try to get to know me or my story.

Pattern matching: creating a function to see if two strings are matching based on a set of rules.