The process started with a slack conversation, followed by a take home code challenge, then phone interview, then paid trial. It was a fun process but very time consuming. The staff was nice, and you were able to join a real Automattic slack channel to talk to employees.

The interview process is outlined on the Automattic website, the first stage is an interview with a developer. The next step is a code test and the last stage is a trial. My initial interview had very little to do with JavaScript and was about general programming aspects like testing and problem-solving. I was asked a system design question, which caught me off guard, but otherwise, it was straightforward. I did not make it past the code test stage, but some notes about it: 1. You're invited to a Github repo with a 'broken plugin'. You're given 6 hours to complete a large variety of tasks, both frontend and backend. 2. They say to 'not spend more than 6 hours' but in reality, if you want to pass the test and impress them, you'll likely need to spend 12+ hours on the test. This is all unpaid work. 3. Vague feedback is provided if you fail the test. I mostly got vaguely defined nitpicks about my submission - 'error handling could be better' etc. I would say, clarify with them what you're expected to do and how far you're expected to go early on, that's something I didn't do and I think that made a difference. I will say that communication was great and everything happened in a timely fashion. I would just set expectations rather high if you're applying. They're looking for a seasoned developer that's willing to spend the time to impress them.