I had a similar interview experience with another person that posted here regarding their senior data scientist interview. The recruiter I spoke with was super nice, responsive and informative. They were definitely enthusiastic about the organization as well as the team, which got me excited to interview with CZI. As a next step, I was initially scheduled to have a 45 min video call with the HM doing a "case study" but for some reason, that was switched over to a phone call. I found this experience to be a bit strange given that, with other companies and orgs I'm interviewing with, these types of interviews are done interactively through a web call with screenshare or video. Conversation with HM went fine but the feedback and responses from the HM were a bit abrupt at times, and it was very apparent that they were not too interested and unengaged in some of my responses. I received a rejection email the morning after, which I expected based on the lack of enthusiasm and abruptness that I sensed during the conversation. I was not too disappointed in this rejection as I did not find the interview to be super engaging or memorable.

CZI uses Karat for their technical screening. I never had experience with Karat until interviewing with CZI and I honestly think it's awesome. Karat interviewers are objective and paid to interview you so you aren't made to feel like you're wasting their time. They're objective, patient, and follow the agenda as per instructed. Wish all companies would use Karat. It would make for a much better interviewee experience, regardless of the outcome. Kudos CZI and Karat.