Affinidi interview questions

The process is ridiculously lengthy with rounds spread across weeks. Every single person in the company seems to be involved - Recruiter (30 mins), hiring manager round with system design, take-home project that needs PRD + spec with system design using their stack, followed by discussion on the same, head of engineering discussion, cross-functional round with product and people leadership, and finally a CTO round. Spanned over 3 weeks. What caught my attention initially was their Temasek backing, though I couldn't quite fully grasp what they're actually building or their end goal and also almost none had a on-point answer for this. I was upfront about my compensation expectations early on, which they agreed was suitable. But here's the kicker - just before the CTO round, the recruiter mentions I'm not meeting their "very likely case" but they still want to proceed, while offering less than my current package based on their evaluation of my skills, which is where I decided to not pursue further. Beyond the time waste, what's concerning is having to interview with every function. Based on my review, baring a few technical folks, none come from significant startup/tech backgrounds to properly evaluate engineering leadership. The real head-scratcher? Having head of people interview for an engineering manager role. The recruiter was excellent with communication and timely responses, but their organisational policies are problematic. They have got fixed pay scales that don't even match base engineering manager salaries at larger companies, let alone well-funded fast-moving startups. They're basically taking European compensation band practice and trying to retrofit them everywhere without market consideration. While the company outlook seemed promising, their approach to compensation and hiring needs serious work. It was more insulting than anything else, that the organisation have the expectation that someone will come in at lower compensation, than what they make, if the review is "not very positive". Skip this unless you're desperately job hunting.

My interview process began with an external recruiter, who provided detailed explanations and expectations before each step, ensuring I was well-prepared. Each round was conducted by highly skilled technical engineers in leadership roles, and I found the entire experience both professional and enjoyable. The home assignment was exceptional—the best I’ve encountered for this kind of role. It focused on system design and required a presentation, using a real-world example with clear expectations. This approach allowed me to fully demonstrate my abilities, including strategic thinking, deadline and budget management, as well as cross-team dependency coordination, which are all highly relevant to an EM position. Unlike standard assignments, which are often limited in scope and timeframe, this one truly showcased my experience beyond technical knowledge. Additionally, the team was very accommodating in expediting the final stages of the process, given I had another offer. I was impressed by the experience and skill of their leading engineers, many with backgrounds at Amazon Web Services, and their enterprise-level approach to security and engineering. Despite their expertise, they were humble and established strong connections, making the short interviews meaningful.