In nearly 10 years of experience, this was one of the more negative interview experiences I have had. I initially spoke with a few team members who were friendly and easy to talk to, which made for a good first impression.
However, things changed during the discussion of the take-home assignment. One of the engineers came across as quite confrontational and passive-aggressive. The way she asked questions felt tense from start to finish, and at one point my answers were repeated back to me in a mocking way. Regardless of intent, that wasn't appropriate in a professional setting and made it hard to have a normal conversation.
There also seemed to be an expectation of a production-level solution, even though that was not clearly stated in the assignment. High expectations are fine, but it would help to communicate that upfront. In my experience, these kinds of interviews usually focus more on discussing trade-offs and different approaches, rather than questioning decisions as if there is only one correct answer.
The conversation felt more like an interrogation than a discussion. I'm aware my solution wasn't perfect, but the tone made it difficult to properly explain my thinking or engage in a constructive way.
If this is representative of how communication works on the team, it could make it harder for people to speak up or share ideas. Overall, it was a disappointing experience.
