After just under two months, I finally received a response to my application—they were interested and wanted to move forward with the process. So far, so good. However, I was immediately asked to complete a coding task within 7 days. This wasn’t just some small exercise, but the implementation of a 3D object detection model, including a training pipeline—in other words, a fairly extensive project.
I worked on it intensively and did thorough research. In the process, I came across a Medium article (from April 2025) that covered the same task. I implemented the task on a comparable scale. However, on the very same day I submitted the solution, I received an immediate rejection.
What I find truly problematic about this is the way applicants are treated here. Two months of radio silence, then a complex task with a tight deadline—followed by an immediate rejection without any discernible feedback or serious consideration of the work submitted.
Personally, I actually found the project exciting and enjoyed working on it. This makes it all the more baffling to me that so much initial effort is expected from applicants, while the company itself shows little willingness to take even the most basic steps—such as an initial introductory interview. At that point, I didn’t know exactly what the role entailed, what projects I would be working on, or what the company culture was like. That could easily have been clarified beforehand.
On top of that, there was confusion regarding the role itself: I applied as an Imitation Learning Researcher, but in the response, I was addressed as an Imitation Learning Engineer. To me, those are two distinctly different roles. This either suggests that the positions aren’t clearly defined internally—or that applicants are simply being shuffled into other roles without transparent communication beforehand.
The bottom line is that this process shows quite clearly what’s going wrong here: poor communication, a lack of transparency, and no respect for the time and effort of the applicants. It’s simply unacceptable to demand extensive work from candidates without offering even a minimum of structure and appreciation in return. Frankly, this kind of treatment is an outrage.
