I was reached out by a recruiter on LinkedIn. The interview process was smooth and is exactly described on their website. - First round was a call with the hiring manager to go over my experience and what I am looking for in the next role. - Next step was take-home assessment - Next call was with 2 Engineers. One engineer talked about take-home assessment and the other engineer asked to design URL Shortner - Next step was interviews with the COO and CEO. The interview with the COO only lasted 10 minutes and she didn't try to know if I will be fit for PEX or not. The call with CEO was very laid back and casual, talked about what I like outside of work, etc.

Started with a recruiter Google Meet conversation that was pleasant and engaging. Afterwards, I felt well-prepared and excited for further rounds. Salary range and job responsibilities were stated clearly up front, which was a nice bit of transparency. I then moved to the hiring manager interview, which took place over Google Meet. I could have misinterpreted the tone, but there were a couple moments when the interviewer seemed almost sarcastic or cynical. Their attitude was somewhat robotic, like they were going through the motions, so it's difficult to be certain. I thanked the interviewer for their time and later noted that there didn't seem to be a clear, articulable future direction for the team - which is worrying to say the least. This coupled with the demeanor of the person I would be working for lead me to decline to continue the process. Next steps would have been 2 or more rounds of interviews, including a technical interview and a C-suite interview. I was told that I would be receiving feedback on my interview performance, but it seems that declining to continue negated that offer. It seems small, but how we treat people we don't have to treat well says a lot.