PlayStation Network Backend Systems Engineer

Candidate passed initial technical screen and submitted a 4-hour take-home backend simulation in Go/Java. Recruiter acknowledged receipt with praise and promised interview panel scheduling. Recruiter never scheduled the panel and ignored 3 follow-ups over 38 days while PlayStation Network engineering postings remained active. 📋 Uncompensated Assessment Details: 4-hour distributed matchmaking and distributed caching coding assignment ⭐ Ghost Severity Rating: 4.05 / 5.0 Rating Analysis: High severity due to uncompensated 4-hour backend simulation (4.7), 38 days of silence (4.0), and recurring complaints on Glassdoor and Reddit (4.6). Rubric Breakdown: Silence: 4.0/5.0 | Rounds: 3.0/5.0 | Take-Home: 4.7/5.0 | Reposting: 4.5/5.0 | Consensus: 4.6/5.0 🔗 Community Discussion & Evidence: Reddit (580 upvotes, 190 comments) — https://www.reddit.com/r/cscareerquestions/comments/1cz0921/playstation_network_backend_take_home_ghosted/ 🔍 LinkedIn Footprint: Perpetually Reposted (6+ months). PSN backend engineering listings continually active on LinkedIn across San Mateo and San Diego. Glassdoor reviews feature complaints regarding recruiter drop-offs after coding challenges.