I have had to fly and stay multiple days overnight in New York City, Minneapolis, and Atlanta for job interview processes in the past. This was absolutely the norm. What's not normal is a couple relatively brief online transactions (2-3 Zoom interviews, a work sample test) clinching a job. That's quite new.

Yes, it is normal, especially at the salary that we pay (currently $275K). To take but one domain: at that salary, you are (roughly) at the level of a school superintendent for a school district with thousands of students (like, large town/small city). If you have ever been associated with hiring someone in that kind of position, you will see a VERY time intensive process, with many hours of interviews with many stakeholders. So yes, we have an intensive process -- but we take hiring very seriously, and we believe that it shows in our extraordinary team.