They have kind of a front end leet code treasure hunt problem just to complete the application. I was curious and figured at least with something like this as part of the application it would increase the chance that I get seen, so I took the time (~1 hour) to go through it and complete it. You would think that having experience in all of the skills they require + already having been at the staff level for the past 4 years + successfully completing their problem solving challenge in the application, that would at least get you an intro interview... but you would be wrong. What a waste of time.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
The code challenge on the application is just a base64 encoded string that once you decode it is a lambda URL. Once you decode it and go to the URL it is some markdown with instructions. The instructions have another lambda URL that you go to plus instructions that there is a 3rd hidden URL within the HTML on the page rendered by the 2nd URL. You have to filter a bunch of DOM nodes based on matching some conditions of attributes, which lead you to yet another lambda URL. This final URL just returns a string and the instructions state to build a simple react app in CodeSandbox that fetches the string and displays it with a typewriter effect using only React APIs (and not CSS). The submission is just the "flag" that you captured (which is just the string that the last lambda URL returns) and the link to your code sandbox.
So in order to be a Front-end Engineer at Ramp, you need to be able to solve cyber security CS questions that 99% of the time front-end engineers never have to deal with. On the initial form they ask you to decode a base64 string that gives you a URL to a capture the flag question. There were no questions about anything front-end related.
Copying and pasting one of the few solutions to their specific question that anyone can find by looking up 'capture the flag frontend' on google, does not adequately convey an applicant's experience.
Having 2 decades of front-end engineering/management is not enough for Ramp to consider your skills for the position, they'd prefer someone who can google and copy/paste efficiently.
Companies that don't know what they need out of an applicant are becoming the norm nowadays.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Please decode the text below. Upon decoding, you will be taken to a URL with further instructions on completing the challenge. aHR0cHM6Ly90bnM0bHBnbXppaXlwbnh4emVsNXNzNW55dTBuZnRvbC5sYW1iZGEtdXJsLnVzLWVhc3QtMS5vbi5hd3MvcmFtcC1jaGFsbGVuZ2UtaW5zdHJ1Y3Rpb25zLw==