Interviewed for the Senior Data Scientist role at Koalafi. Unfortunately, the interview process felt poorly calibrated and unnecessarily burdensome for candidates. The process involved: - A take-home assignment that realistically required well over the suggested time commitment (closer to 3+ hours to complete thoughtfully) - A “super day” that the recruiter explicitly framed as a case interview, but which did not resemble a traditional case format at all, making preparation guidance misleading - Multiple rounds totaling 20+ hours of preparation and interviewing overall The most disappointing part was the candidate experience at the end of the process. After the substantial time investment, the rejection communication was extremely cold and generic, with no meaningful feedback provided. One additional point worth noting for candidates evaluating tradeoffs: the role is explicitly 2 days onsite. Ironically, after going through this process, I ended up receiving opportunities with significantly higher compensation and substantially more remote flexibility. In hindsight, the rejection was probably a blessing because it helped recalibrate my understanding of my market value. Rigorous hiring standards are completely fair for senior technical roles. But rigor should come with accurate communication, reasonable expectations around candidate time investment, and a more thoughtful close to the process.