The interview process started with a virtual exploratory interview, followed by a take-home technical assignment. You are given 5 days to review multiple PDFs and videos on gas meters to create an outline and a three-page instructional document. They have specific rules regarding AI (if you use it for planning, you must document exactly how you used it, which I did). After submitting the assignment, I was invited for a 2.5-hour in-person interview. This included a 1-hour technical review of my submission, a lunch meeting to assess culture fit, and a 1.5-hour wrap-up with HR and the hiring manager. During the final segment, they went heavily into company values, detailed the benefits package, confirmed my compensation requirements, and explicitly asked about my earliest start date. The messaging strongly implied they were moving forward with an offer. I was told a decision would be made by the following week. That deadline passed with complete silence. After I proactively followed up on Monday, the recruiter claimed they were "still making a decision." Two days later, I received a cold, generic three-sentence rejection email. Advice to management. If you are going to require candidates to invest significant time into a multi-day take-home assignment and a 2.5-hour multi-stage in-person interview, please afford them the professional courtesy of a personalized response or constructive feedback. Giving candidates a detailed breakdown of benefits and asking for start dates, only to follow up with a generic automated rejection after missing your own deadline, creates a poor candidate experience.