I applied online. The process took two weeks.

I had a couple of personal interviews with the development team in Auckland. The interviews mainly focused on technical abilities related to the position, problem-solving skills involving designing single-page apps, and the ability to cope with complexities that arise when working in a large team of 100+ engineers. Post-interview, I was asked to share code relevant to the position that I had written before.

The interviewers were pleasant and very considerate, as they did an impromptu interview in order for me to save another trip. The interview was more of a discussion than an interview. The overall experience with the developers and manager was extremely good, and I am quite sure they will be great to work with.

I didn't personally have a very good experience with HR, and it left a bad aftertaste. Post-interview, the HR seemed like he was in a hurry to close before waiting for approval, both from their side and mine. I had to ask him to focus by taking one step at a time. Trying to close candidates quickly is certainly a good trait, but so is knowing how to proceed, understanding what the expectations are, asking the right questions, and listening to what the other person is saying.

I didn't agree with the offer made and certainly didn't ask for any judgements to be passed. The conversation went off from clearing any misconceptions I might have, to convincing me about nothing is wrong with the offer, to passing a judgement when I didn't agree. When I confronted him about what he was saying, the response was pretty much along the lines of that I had it coming. I also didn't ask for a condescending and patronising tone in the conversation. It might just be an isolated incident, and I am willing to give the benefit of the doubt to the company.

Almost all the questions were logical and didn't seem out of place. One of the questions that I quite liked was how one maintains CSS in large companies, especially when a lot of teams are working independently of each other on different products on a common code base.