I had a phone interview with a Stripe engineer for an L3 level position. The question wasn't LeetCode-y, and I can't say it was a real-world type of problem either. It was a simple question using a dictionary (hash map), and as I solved each step, they added a new requirement. In my case, the interviewer wasn't focused and seemed like he was getting some job done during the interview. I solved a couple of steps of the question. On the last step, after he added a requirement, I realized the question wouldn't be practical if the function got called multiple times. I tried to get his attention and clarification. Of course, he was distracted and also had a brain fart after realizing what I was saying. We made some assumptions and continued coding. Within two to three minutes of actually coding the last part, he stopped me and told me my solution was correct. He'd like to have the last five minutes for QA. I asked about his team and projects. Unfortunately, his answer was so general and lasted around ten seconds, followed by, 'If you don't have any more questions, we can finish early.' Definitely a unique experience, in a negative way.

Simple dictionary question around sort and search.