The interview process was lengthy and involved 7 rounds. The experience was inconsistent and disappointing overall. Recruiter call: They ask a lot of questions. It is of no use. My recruiter really confused me in the process. I would suggest to not rely on any preparation docs. Instead, go with online reviews of candidates' interview experiences. Phone Screen: Multi-part question. I completed two parts with thorough testing. I was told by both the recruiter and the interviewer that online lookup for language syntax was allowed, but later received contradictory feedback from the recruiter that this was a red flag. I looked up docs only because interviewer asked me to. Onsites: Coding: Solved all three parts on HackerRank with no internet use this time and gave test cases. I clearly explained my approach to the interviewer. Recruiter raised it as a red flag and stated that the communication was interviewer nudging me which is not true. Interviewer did not have to point out anything. Bug squash: Solved 2 bugs in the open source code base. No feedback received from the recruiter. I am not sure if this is negative/positive. Recruiter was only making it sound like the feedback is entirely negative. System Design Interview: Faced audio issues from the interviewer’s side which impacted communication. However, he did not address that. This led to misunderstandings despite me raising the issue at the beginning of the interview. No intros. Recruiter also shared similar feedback that interviewer had to repeat himself numerous times which aligns with what I said about technical issue at his end. No opportunity was given by the recruiter to retake or clarify because she was upset that I did not rate her highly in the feedback survey Stripe sends after the onsites, although another candidate was reportedly offered that option by his recruiter. Hiring Manager Interview: This was unexpected. I was wrongly categorized as an Engineering Manager, which I am not. The recruiter also stated that I am an Engineering manager although they had my resume and 45 minutes of the interview focused on the Senior Engineer role only. I answered all questions as per STAR and was a good fit for the role they were hiring for. This was completely unfair outcome. Integration round: Interviewer joined late stating that his adhoc call got extended and appeared distracted throughout, even ending early for another meeting. Candidates do not have the privilege to behave the same. Despite this, I solved two full parts and started a third. Interviewer tells you to search up anything on Google if stuck because it is allowed. He also stated that we don't have to complete all parts and stopped me when I was coding the third part. However, recruiter raised it as a red flag and I did not understand the reason because she gave no feedback. I wanted a re-round for System Design but recruiter sent a rejection mail and said she will give feedback later because she is pregnant and sick. Another candidate got a re-round and another HM team match by his recruiter. He did not solve as many parts as I did in the interviews. I did not even get a feedback after spending so much time in the process. Stripe sends an onsite interview survey. I made a big mistake and submitted this survey. I did not give any feedback just 5 words about technical issues and no feedback/reason for rejection. Recruiter turned the feedback call to a confrontational call and I had to hang up because she kept cornering me about the survey I filled. I did not even write anything negative there to warrant such hostility. She kept confronting me about the bad rating. I extended utmost understanding to her regarding her pregnancy but she was taking things too personally. I ended up not getting any proper feedback or information on cool-down period. I dropped her an email later to which she simply replied "best of luck for other interviews elsewhere" which was very insulting given the amount of time and energy this process took from me. General Feedback: The guidelines about what’s allowed during interviews (e.g., searching for syntax) were inconsistent. It is advisable to not use the internet at all. Interview quality varied significantly across rounds. In the phone screen, the interviewer was friendly and fair. In onsites, they were distracted and disinterested. it is not a level playing feed and depends on luck. Communication from the recruitment side was not transparent. Feedback, timelines, and post-interview handling should treat people fairly. Advice : Prepare for non-standard interview formats and scenarios where expectations aren’t clearly defined. Document each round for yourself in case follow-up is needed. If you're a woman or part of an underrepresented group, be aware that it may not always feel inclusive or fair. Ignore the post-interview surveys to escape recruiter spoiling your chances for another round or another team match. Another candidate got both HM and System Design re-round from his recruiter despite solving less parts than me in the coding rounds. For some reason, Glassdoor is not allowing an honest feedback to be posted.