I applied for a position at Factored in November 2025 through a LinkedIn job post. A few days later, they sent me a 45-minute online technical assessment covering backend engineering, SQL, Python, and GenAI, alongside a couple of LeetCode-style Python problems. I won't lie—the assessment was tough, especially the coding problems given the strict 10–15 minute time limit, but I managed to solve them. Following the assessment, the recruiter reached out to schedule a preliminary interview. Before we spoke, he sent me an email with recommendations to help me prepare, suggesting I craft an elevator pitch and structure my past experiences using the CAR framework. That guidance was incredibly helpful; it even helped me discover strengths in my background I hadn't fully recognized before. The interview itself went smoothly. The recruiter made me feel comfortable and allowed me to properly showcase my experience. He also outlined the rest of the process, which would consist of three technical interviews: Backend Engineering, GenAI, and System Design. A week later, I had the 60-minute Backend Engineering interview. Establishing a great trend, my recruiter sent me tailored recommendations beforehand to help me prepare. The interview began with a discussion about my experience, followed by backend-specific questions, and concluded with a 20-minute live code review where I had to suggest improvements based on best practices. Overall, it went well—I felt it could have been slightly better, but it was still a solid performance. Almost two weeks later, on December 23rd, I had the 30-minute GenAI interview. Again, my recruiter provided prep materials beforehand. We discussed GenAI and ML concepts, and the interviewer did a great job of putting me at ease, allowing me to perform well. Because the Factored team began their winter break that same day, I knew I would have to wait until January for an update. However, my recruiter was highly proactive and emailed me on Christmas Eve just to keep me informed about the pause in the timeline. In the second week of January, my recruiter scheduled the final technical round: the System Design interview. He once again sent over preparation tips. Since this was my first time facing this type of interview, I spent my holiday downtime studying heavily—watching videos and reading the System Design Interview book. The interview lasted 30–45 minutes and was conducted by the Head of SWE. It was a little intimidating, but I delivered a strong performance while designing a RAG system. A week later, I received the good news that I would be joining the Factored team! Even though the hiring process was long—spanning almost two months—I really want to highlight the exceptional communication from my recruiter. His transparent updates at every stage and the constant stream of recommendations ensured I was as prepared as possible for every challenge.