The first round was conducted by colleagues from the project team, focusing mainly on QA automation, API testing, and all the things you do not need to remember (which can be consulted through documentation during actual work).
The interview experience was disappointing. Instead of evaluating my problem-solving approach or overall skill set, the interviewers drilled endlessly into narrow technical details and focused only on memorised technical trivia. The tone came across as adversarial, as if the goal was to make me fail rather than understand my abilities. It felt like they had already decided not to move forward before the interview even began.
Another red flag was the working culture reflected during the discussion. The team members conducting the interview were not based in Germany but offshore, and their approach strongly hinted at a micromanagement-heavy style. The interaction lacked professionalism and people skills, which raised concerns about how the team dynamic and collaboration would be in practice.
Overall, the interview left the impression of bias, poor communication, and a rigid, micro-controlling environment rather than a constructive or supportive one.