I applied online, and the first task was to solve an algorithmic challenge on HackerRank. I would rate it as difficult due to the time and performance constraints that needed to be met. I successfully implemented the solution and moved on to the next stage. Unfortunately, the interview with the engineer went terribly. The interviewer from Spain, had a very strong accent, intermediate English skills, and a poor-quality microphone. At times, I had to ask multiple clarifying questions just to understand what he was saying. On top of that, there were people passing by in the background, which distracted him frequently. I was often unsure if he was talking to me or to someone else. All of these issues significantly slowed down the interview. The goal of the interview was to solve a relatively simple string algorithm challenge. Once I finally clarified what needed to be done, I asked what kind of input data to expect, as I wanted to account for edge cases. He told me not to worry about edge cases for now and to expect regular English words. However, after implementing my solution, Victor provided example outputs, and I passed all checks except one involving a string with a single repetitive letter—which was definitely not an English word, contrary to what he'd said at the beginning of the interview. By that point, the interview had ended. During the interview, I also attempted to write unit tests, but he showed no interest in them whatsoever. There were no questions about my domain knowledge or experience. Overall, it was a very poor experience. The algorithmic task was fairly easy, but it was difficult to extract clear information from someone who seemed unqualified to conduct interviews.