I spoke with the hiring recruiter for the role and was sent a letter shortly after they would not move forward with my application. FYI they have 6 rounds of interviews. This doesn't include the hiring recruiter (that would be 7 if you did). The recruiter tried to soften it up by saying the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th round were usually done one after another, but yeah, I would still consider that a round if its a completely new hoop to jump through. 1st round - design director 2nd round - portfolio review - larger group 3rd round - design exercise 4th round - collaboration exercise 5th - vanta principles 6th - product demo I think the last two rounds aren't really to assess your ability. I gathered they were more of a show and tell and also a way to sell an interviewee on Vanta. As far as compensation goes for a senior level role, it varies from 120,000 to 210,000. They will make an offer based on how experienced they think you are in the interviews. While they are transparent with the range, the range is pretty big.

The process began with an initial recruiter call, which was fine. I was later transitioned to a different recruiter who communicated brilliantly—until a certain point. The process followed a standard structure: an introduction with the hiring manager, a portfolio review, and multiple conversations with engineers. Throughout these stages, feedback was positive, and communication was consistent. The final stage, however, involved an interview with the department head, which was unexpectedly unprofessional. The questions were rude, and the feedback lacked clarity and directness. Following this, I was informed that other candidates would also begin the process, and an additional stage would be added. I was told to expect an update on the next steps. Despite waiting nearly a month, no further communication was received. Instead, I discovered that the role had been reposted. This experience suggests a concerning practice of ghosting and a lack of respect for candidates' time and professional boundaries.