Initial phone screen by the manager. Then a video call to meet the team, except the manager didn't know how to properly set up a video call, asked me to set it up and in the end just FaceTime called me. Finally another round of call.
Everyone I talked to seemed pretty nice, I almost took the offer but I'm so glad I dodged a bullet. The manager turned out to be unprofessional and very problematic. I read all the reviews here during the interview process and I can say that they are pretty accurate description of the manager. So below is my story:
They are a very small team so everyone kind of does everything. Not a problem, the manager made that clear in the beginning of the process. However, I noticed that she didn't really know how to professionally communicate to a job candidate. She chose to text me instead of emailing about the next steps, she would call me up at RANDOM times to ask me additional questions without any notice. Not sure if that was reflective of how she handles business with her full-time associates. I didn't think too much of it.
They eventually gave me an offer. I replied, said thank you, and asked some additional questions such as holiday schedules. One of the questions I asked was about HR, since they don't have a designated HR personnel. I asked "since HR duties are absorbed across management team, what are some measures to ensure the fairness of some HR responsibilities, such as fair compensation, evaluation, or discrimination issues?" It wasn't really a problem for me that they didn't have an HR as long as there were checks and balances in place to make sure management deals with issues fairly. However, I guess my question triggered the manager as she called me up again (at another inappropriate time). She said I asked good questions, and she wanted to assure me that "they just don't discriminate." Mind you, I would've been the only person of color at this office. Everyone has implicit biases, including myself, and recognizing so is the first step towards diversity and fair treatments. I was shocked at her response. Her tone was very defensive even though I simply used discrimination issues as an example of many HR responsibilities. I explained that it's not I think they discriminate, I was just asking about the checks and balances in place and it's important because HR usually carries that responsibility. She dismissed my concern and said she had to go, then hung up on me.
Later she emailed me and told me the questions I asked showed that I wouldn't be a good fit for them because they're just a small team. Not sure what the size of the team has anything to do with it. But it was definitely interesting that my clarification questions resulted in them taking back the offer, especially after a discussion about HR and discrimination.
Another thing to add: they asked for a proof of my immigration status, which is illegal to request for during the interview process as immigration status, citizenship, or national origin should not be a factor in employment decisions, as long as the candidate is authorized to work in the US. Particularly interesting given that I am a person of color, and I wonder if they asked their white candidates for the same thing.