Twitter | SWE | Seattle | Sep [No Offer]

The interview process consisted of four rounds, all conducted on a laptop using a Hackerrank platform. This allowed me to write code, test cases, and execute them.

Round 1

Decode String (Leetcode) I was able to complete the coding and testing within 15 minutes.

Round 2

Combination Sum III (Leetcode) I finished the coding and testing in approximately 15 minutes. However, I selected Java 7 on Hackerrank, and my solution failed to compile. It took me an additional 5 minutes to identify and resolve the issue.

Round 3

System design for a Config Operation system where clients can call update config on multiple clusters. There is a Management service that can update the config for one cluster at a time. Use the Management service API to design the system.

The interviewer seemed to have a specific design in mind and was not receptive to exploring alternative approaches. Additionally, the system design required CURD operations but did not need to track previous operations, which seemed unrealistic for a production system. I have experience with similar systems and felt confident in my understanding, but the interviewer did not appear impressed.

Round 4 | Behavioral The interviewer asked about my past experiences, going back as far as seven years. I was asked to name all my previous managers and describe their opinions of me, even for a company I worked at seven years ago.

Overall Impression I found the company culture to be negative and not a place I would want to work. I observed political dynamics even during the interview process. Each interview had two interviewers, forming a panel. More than half of the interviewers were based in California and joined via video conferencing. I was open to interviewing in California, but the hiring manager was based in Seattle.

Impression of Engineers I enjoyed interacting with most of the engineers, except for the one who conducted the System Design interview. The other engineers were friendly and engaged in conversation rather than interrogation. However, the Senior Engineer (System Design) seemed more focused on putting me down than assessing my technical skills.

Impression of Managers I had a very negative impression of the managers. I am unsure how they manage (or mismanage) such talented engineers.

Technical Difficulty in Interview The technical questions were mostly standard Leetcode problems, with minimal difficulty. The System Design round was significantly more challenging.

Areas for Improvement I could have navigated the System Design round more effectively.