The interview process lasted six weeks and included four video interviews, all of which I enjoyed. They also assigned me a take-home test to create either a RESTful or gRPC API, with the condition that the details remain private. Respecting that request, I won’t elaborate much, but I chose to build a RESTful API. In hindsight, this decision seemed to work against me. The final interview was with the CTO, and I initially believed it would be more of a "welcome to the team" conversation. Instead, I was informed that the position was competing with a sales role, which left me confused about the overall process. To add to the unusual timing, the interview coincided with a media frenzy about drones flying over New Jersey, which seemed to distract from the discussion. The CTO concluded the interview by expressing enthusiasm for me to join the team but mentioned needing a few days to make a final decision. Ultimately, they decided to pass. That’s business, and I have no hard feelings. However, I noticed they reposted the position shortly after, which left me wondering if I ever received a clear explanation for their decision.