I applied through Craigslist on Sunday ( looking through my emails, I just realized that it was a Sunday) and got a reply back on the same day asking about my availability for a phone interview next week. The phone interview, more like a friendly conversation went very well. The recruiter was very pleasant and professional. Next thing I knew, she asked me whether I can come in for an onsite interview, which of course I gladly said yes. She sent me an email later on confirming the time and the persons whom I will meet. The whole process was handled very professionally. At every step, she would tell me what to expect next. I met with the hiring manager and a senior member of the team. It was more like a get to know meeting with the hiring manager and an open technical discussion with the senior member. After that, they asked me to take a home test requiring 10 hours to finish. And I had 4 days to turn it in. The home test was like a simulation of a real systems engineer project. I was asked to come onsite for a second time to do a presentation on the home test which I've turned in. BART was on strike on that day. So, the hiring manager was logged in from home remotely. They set up a Mac laptop and video conference. So I can present my work at my comfort. Again, it was a very open presentation between me, the hiring manager and the senior member. I felt the team spirit where everybody was so focused tackling a difficult project. Questions, ideas, unselfish knowledge sharing flew around the room. This home test was new to me and I think that it was a pretty creative and practical way to test a candidate, instead of those boring questions on a sheet of paper. After that, I had the pleasure to meet with the company's vp product engineering. And I learned a lot from him, although it was a short meeting. Sadly, I didn't get the offer. But the overall experience was awesome. The people at Nitro are very professional and knowledgeable. And the most important thing was they treated you with respect. You will gain much more coming out of this whole experience.

I did two interviews, one with the person responsible for recruiting and the other with the team leader. In the first interview I was told a little about the company and what the company was looking for. In the second interview I was introduced to the whole company and they told me about the project and technologies that are used. But I never received feedback on the selection process.