Recently, I formally withdrew from the hiring process at CADDi, a fast-growing B2B manufacturing platform in Japan.
I applied for a Senior Software Engineer position and went through multiple rounds of interviews and evaluations.
By the end, I realized this opportunity—and the culture behind it—was fundamentally not for me.

Here’s what happened, and why I chose to walk away.

Interview Process Summary

The process was well-organized at first and included:

  • Initial HR screening
  • A deep dive with an Engineering Manager
  • Two technical rounds (system design & coding)
  • A final discussion with the CTO
  • Offer discussion and level review

After these rounds, I was given an initial offer:

  • Level: SWE2
  • Annual salary: ÂĽ8.1M
  • No stock, bonus unclear
  • An unexpected “final discussion” scheduled again

A Sudden Interview… Again

Just when I thought we were entering the offer negotiation stage, I received a surprising message:
CADDi wanted to schedule another interview round, this time after the offer had been extended.

I declined the extra round, pointing out that I had already completed multiple technical interviews.
They then asked me to submit a list of past projects and examples to “demonstrate” I was qualified for SWE3.

I spent hours preparing a detailed breakdown of my leadership experience at Microsoft, EA, and Realtor.com.
And yet—even after receiving all of this—the company again asked for a follow-up meeting to “discuss my examples.”

No updated offer was ever mentioned during this time.

A Conversation That Wasn’t What It Seemed

This final meeting felt… off.

Instead of actually reviewing my experience or giving feedback on the examples I’d provided, I was met with a new round of abstract, loosely-defined questions—like:

“How would you speed up the development process at a growing company?”

When I answered by breaking it down into streamlining policies, engineering practices, and testing infrastructure, I didn’t get engagement.
Instead, it felt like they were waiting for a specific ‘textbook’ answer.

Throughout the meeting, one of the hiring managers was visibly yawning—repeatedly.
That may sound minor, but in the context of a supposedly important “re-evaluation” discussion, it felt unprofessional and disrespectful.

At the end of the call, they said:

“We still need time to consider.”

By then, I had already made up my mind.

What This Taught Me About CADDi’s Culture

What frustrated me the most wasn’t the level or the salary—it was the lack of sincerity in the process.

From the moment the offer was given, I felt I was being brought into a false pretense of negotiation.
But every step seemed geared toward defending the initial offer, not genuinely exploring what I could bring to the company.

The engineering manager even told me:

“Our SWE1s are already quite strong—many engineers we interview don’t even qualify for SWE1.”

To me, that came across not as high standards, but as self-congratulatory gatekeeping—and a surprising lack of humility or respect for the broader engineering community.

My Final Thoughts

I formally withdrew from the process shortly after.
I believe hiring should be a two-way conversation—not a one-sided evaluation that moves the goalposts every time.

If you’re currently job-hunting and considering CADDi, my advice is simple:
Steer clear.

There are many great companies in Japan building strong engineering cultures—this, in my opinion, is not one of them.