I applied through other source.

• Recruiter call, 15 minutes
• Hiring manager call, 1hr
• Take home project, 2 hours

I told the recruiter and the hiring manager up front that I would be a hard sell. Their product seemed interesting, but, I wasn't really too interested in putting in a bunch of time on a take home project. They claim that it should take 2 hours to complete.

I was able to get it working in under 2 hours, but, not super polished. If I really cared about joining this company, I probably would have put more time in on the take home. I'd imagine it would take more like 3 hours. Overall, the take home was pleasant, but (and here is why I say overall experience = bad):

a) 2 hours is a bare minimum, imo. They "appreciate tests" really, the should just ask you to include them.

b) No feedback was given to the take home. In fact, I was initially given a "it's looking good" email, and then it was retracted. So... I guess it was just marginal?

My advice: if you really care about this business domain, or, you really need the position, don't listen to the advice of "it will just take 2 hours". Everyone is different. For instance, the included sample gradle file had a problem in it that took me 20 minutes to solve. Give your self half a day.

Tell me about a project you worked on recently.