WASTE OF TIME!!!
The process consisted of a coding + AI question round, followed by a 4-hour-long final round. Most of the time (~3 hours) was spent coding. They shared the repo in advance, along with 2-3 user stories to work on during the session.
At the start, I explicitly asked if they preferred me to spend more time asking questions or just dive into coding — they said the latter. The stories were fairly straightforward, and I made sure to implement them while leveraging my prior understanding of the repo. I was almost able to complete the AI story best I could but the model they gave me sucked, and somehow it was my mistake that it was not spitting the right response although I know prompt engineering.
What surprised me was the feedback afterward. Apparently, I didn't ask "clarifying questions" — which felt ironic given the instructions I received at the start. Another point was that I didn't discuss the architecture — something that never even came up during the entire session.
Honestly, the whole experience left me feeling like my time and effort weren't valued. Not every interview process is a fit for everyone, but this one left me scratching my head. Just sharing this in case it helps someone else manage their expectations!