I was very impressed with DS-IQ’s interview and hiring process. The interviews were tough but they were also very real world. The questions were along the line of: How do you design X? What type of data structure would you use to store Y if you were looking for recall? Where can you perform caching and what are the ramifications of each level? What steps do you take to test the UI and workflow? How do you break down problems is what they were diving into. The hard part about this for the interviewee is that they ask ambiguous questions that open the floor for you to talk through an entire problem. While they look at tacit knowledge they are definitely looking for a person that fits their culture that they can work with over time. This also impressed me about the company. I never felt nervous during the interviews, overwhelmed by their knowledge yes, but not nervous. Each interviewer was humble and I felt wanted me to succeed. It was always a conversation. They also recognized my level of work experience and didn't ask me silly esoteric things, say specifics about a certain language like keywords, that maybe someone new in the industry would focus on. Even the CTO met with me to share his vision for technology, the company and its culture as part of the process. If there was a downside to the process, it was that a 3 hour interview turned into a 5+ hour interview. I happened to like that as it meant to me I had found a connection since people weren't trying to just see if I fit what they needed done right now. The interviews and offer were quick other than the length of time they ran. HR definitely had their ducks in a row. Once I applied through a recruiter, they brought me in right away. After the initial meeting, there was a second round due to the fact some people were out that day. After the second interview, which was delayed by two days due to my schedule, the CTO made me an offer. The one thing I liked is he didn't low ball me or try or leave it open to negotiation. It was a solid offer with good benefits that would beat most other companies. The no negotiation was new to me but I liked it because it forced both him and me to be real and honest about where we both were and our needs. That aspect left me feeling like we had both put a maximum effort into selling ourselves which seems better to me than worrying if you got every last penny you could have got.