* Recruiter Screening / Culture fit * Live coding with an interviewer through a contracted third party * Technical interview with a principal and a project manager I was told that I passed the interview, but that the grant for the project that I had applied for was not awarded to fearless. I was asked to sign a contingent acceptance of an offer until fearless won a different grant for a different project. The project seemed cool, and I wasn't under any pressure. So, sure, why not? I was asked to fill out W2s etc.. When I contacted the support line for the agency involved with the federal project, I asked if they were aware of any grants involving work on the project. They said they were not aware of any such grants. Maybe there really was a grant and they just weren't allowed to talk about it. Fine. A job ad for the position that I was supposedly waiting on was reposted to linkedin and then taken down a few days later. I was told that fearless again didn't win the award. A few months later, I was asked if I was interested in joining for a different project. It makes me wonder where the 6 million that was awarded a few years ago has gone. Is this their attempt to address a cash flow problem? Is it a creative solution to the inherent unpredictability of grant work? Is it something else? Is there enough margin for staff downtime between projects? If I were to accept an offer, how would this play out when the contract ends?

First step was an 15 minute initial phone screen. The second step was a 1 hour "Cultural Contribution Conversation" where they explained that they maintain a 50% hiring rate of people of color. Not sure whether I like that or if that is impacting other well-qualified people from getting a job with them due to the color of their skin. I should mention I'm NOT a person of color. A couple other things I noticed: - The interview is a video call yet, the person interviewing me couldn't be bothered to have their camera on. Red flag number 1. - There was almost zero structure to the interview, in fact, it felt as though I was holding the interview, as I had asked far more questions than she had. Red flag number 2. Not sure how or why the interview was scheduled at one hour length because most people would likely run out of questions 1/4 of the way through the interview. I happened to have very thoughtful questions, some of which I laid out beforehand, others that came to me while she was answering other questions I had. Despite all of this, I thought the interview had gone very well and was excited about next steps... until of course I received a generic rejection email: "We appreciate the opportunity to learn more about you and consider you for the position of Software Engineer - All Levels. We've reviewed your background and experience and have decided to move forward with other candidates who meet our needs more closely at this time." Huh? My background and experience is quite solid and aligns well with what they were looking for... not to mention, they're hiring for "All levels" and in order to have made it through the initial interview, wouldn't my background and experience already have been reviewed? I'm a mid-senior level full-stack engineer, potential for many different positions they discussed so, this really has me wondering... Was I denied a position because of the color of my skin? It couldn't have been based on the ability to get the job done since I didn't even get a chance to make it the technical round of interviews...