I recently underwent a lengthy (10-week!) and ultimately unsatisfying interview process with Sharp for a Lead Engineer role, a contract position with a potential for permanent hire. Initially contacted by a very nice recruiter, the role promised flexibility and potential for permanent employment, which piqued my interest despite the lower take-home pay. But, man, the process was a headache with delays and communication issues. It took a month from initial contact to schedule the first interview, raising concerns about how organized they are. The first interview with the director was very positive and engaging - we hit it off! A very relaxed conversation talking tech and having personal things in common, lots of smiles, challenging questions meant to be fun & engaging, and even going over the scheduled time without either of us noticing. It made me feel good about working there. After that, things got a little weird. Scheduling the next interview took 3 weeks. Through the wait, the recruiter shared in my bafflement about the delay, as she was told they were not considering other candidates and they had final signoff approval to hire a contractor for the role. When I eventually got an email saying they booked me for the next round, they initially sounded inflexible with the times, and seemed annoyed that I didn't just drop everything for that time. They knew I had other commitments! Then, the technical interview deviated from the expected format. Instead of the promised panel (architects and senior engineers), only the director showed up. While I was pleased to see him again, his behavior noticeably changed, lacking the warmth and friendly engagement from our initial video call. While I came prepared with questions to clarify the requirements, slides outlining my architecture, pre-built demo code, code-splitting of lambda functions to optimize performance/scalability, and CI/CD example scripts, the technical discussions fell flat. There was almost no engagement, and zero feedback which only added to the overall discomfort of the process. Post interview, I got an email saying that I "failed" the technical interview without any further feedback. Repeated requests for constructive feedback went unanswered. That was disheartening. For a senior professional, feedback is important for growth and their unwillingness to provide it felt dismissive and unprofessional. So yeah not a good experience overall. The whole thing left me with unanswered questions and a bad taste in my mouth. The lack of timely communication, inflexibility in scheduling, change in demeanor, seemingly disorganized engagement, and the abrupt change in interview dynamics were red flags. For a company seeking to fill a lead contractor role, I felt Sharp surprisingly lacked efficiency and basic professional courtesy.