Probably the best structured interview process I've been a part of. At every step of the way I was kept informed in terms of both feedback and what to expect content wise etc for subsequent interviews. The process was somewhat lengthy but understandable giving the huge recruitment drive they're undertaking at the moment + easter and other public holidays. The first interview was a screening interview with their internal recruiter discussing my experience. As screeners go, this was refreshingly unique and I was asked a series of well thought out technical questions and follow up questions about my answers that are usually reserved for the more technical interviews later on. From here, there was a coding challenge involving setting up a warehouse and robot that can take a series of commands and adhere to certain restrictions. This challenge was structured in two parts - a take home portion setting up the basics followed by a pair programming session expanding on your solution (with instructions provided on what to expect in the live part two section). Kept it simple and extendable and as a result was able to handle the curveballs the team threw at it with quick, simple solutions. The final interview was a combined system design and cultural fit interview with the director of engineering and engineering manager - the theme of the system design was shared ahead of time to allow me to prepare adequately, though in this case I had anticipated a more high level and complex requirement than what was actually requested in the interview. Being able to meet and ask questions of all different kinds of potential coworkers was fantastic and alleviated many of the concerns I had with the remote nature of the work and potential for progression. I was offered the role and had I not had another exciting offer would have had no hesitation in accepting. The culture, perks and growth opportunities seem fantastic.

The interview process at Lyka stretched over 4 weeks, beginning with a quite pleasant HR round. This was soon followed by a take-home test that was scant on instructions yet expected to be completed within two hours. Despite assembling a robust part 1, complete with Express server setups, PostgreSQL connections boilerplates, and thorough unit tests, I was critiqued for "over-engineering." This seemed misplaced given the vague task scope and the fact that the role was for a TypeScript backend developer. What was initially described as a 90-minute pair programming session turned out to be just 45 minutes by the time we actually started, forcing us to rush through the coding. Before diving into the code, I had detailed my database and API design to clarify my approach. Despite this, post-session, HR reiterated their critique about my work being over-engineered, and commented on my lack of a TDD approach and pre-coding design. This feedback was ironic, especially since they had proceeded with me after my initial "over-engineered" submission. I had clearly demonstrated clean, fully covered unit tests and had openly discussed my database and API design during the interview, which makes the inconsistent feedback even more baffling. The experience could have been far less confusing with clearer instructions and more realistic expectations regarding the backend TypeScript role. If a detailed design and TDD process are expected within a cramped 40-minute window, some clear guidance beforehand would be immensely helpful. Overall, the process was unnecessarily lengthy and perplexing. I wouldn't recommend it unless you're prepared to navigate vague requirements and mixed feedback.