Despite assurances from the hiring manager, the coding round was exactly the kind of LC-style exercise I was told would not be part of the process. For a senior engineering role, relying on algorithm puzzles instead of real-world problem-solving is a poor measure of capability and often just a fallback when interviewers don’t know what to ask. Processes built on this assumption frequently produce hires with little or no meaningful production experience. In hindsight, I am glad I dodged a bullet.