Machine Learning Engineer · Full Journey · Multiple Types

Apple — Machine Learning Engineer ❌ Failed

Level: Senior-Level

Round: Full Journey · Type: Multiple Types · Difficulty: 6/10 · Duration: 360 min · Interviewer: Neutral

Topics: Machine Learning, A/B Testing, Model Design, Bidding Strategies, Product Design, News Feed Design, Embedding Generation

Location: San Francisco Bay Area

Interview date: 2026-01-15

Got offer: False

Summary

Interview Rounds Overview

• Round 1: Technical Phone Screen
• Round 2: ML Application
• Round 3: Product
• Round 4: Hiring Manager
• Round 5: ML Design 1
• Round 6: ML Design 2

Details

My interview experience consisted of several rounds.

In the technical phone screen, I was asked about the differences between DCN v1 and v2, and how to A/B test a model.

During the ML Application round, the focus was on bidding strategies and how to design CPA. I felt this round didn't go well, as the interviewer was an economist, and we weren't on the same wavelength.

The product round involved discussing my projects.

The Hiring Manager round was a background discussion and went well.

In the first ML design round, I designed a news feed, which I felt good about.

In the second ML design round, I was asked about how embeddings are generated. I mentioned I typically obtain them from a feature store, and this round didn't go well.

The result was too mixed to move forward.