The process started with a 1 hour phone screen with a recruiter. Two weeks later I was invited to take a coding test on hackerrank.com. One week later I was invited to a technical screen with two engineers in the position I was interviewing for. One week later I was invited to interview with two engineering managers. One week later I was invited to interview with a senior leader. One week later I received a rejection email.

The initial phone screen with HR revealed bright red flags. I read a lot of company reviews to prep for the call and noticed a theme in them: they appear to have a nontransparent promotion process. I asked about this directly: What processes or systems are in place to ensure that my career progress is influenced primarily by my results? They mentioned they believe that "your promotion is ready when you are" in a very large word salad that included things like KRAs and peer feedback. Nothing wrong with KRAs and feedback, but... The problem with "your promotion is ready when you are" is that it's a thought-terminating cliche. It SOUNDS profound, but it conveys no actual meaning. It is a statement that stops thought and discussion. Since it doesn't convey any meaning, it can't really be discussed. A good employer would say "your promotion is ready *when you earn it*." I withdrew my application shortly after the call.