This was the rare interview process that ended in a rejection, but still left me with a more positive impression of the company after completing it. I was a bit rusty in the pair programming and did respectably, but not well enough for the high bar they set. Everyone I spoke with was very passionate about what they were doing and took the time to carefully consider me as a candidate, while also moving very quickly. Both founders are engineers and even the individual doing the HR screen had an engineering background, so they obviously prioritise their engineering culture a lot. I think you would grow a lot as an engineer there regardless of your experience level. Although the programming challenge is a real world problem, it is fundamentally an algorithm question so I would brush up on LeetCode first to give yourself the best chance. Of course, they sent me kind, detailed feedback in the end and encouraged me to apply again in the future, which I certainly will next time I am looking for a new role.

Phone team fit and technical screen, then technical interview with VP Engineering and senior developer with in-interview technical coding challenge. Followed by a separate interview with CTO, and then offer.