I applied online. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at LiveIntent (Berlin) in Sept 2018
Interview
The process started with a phone screening - mainly questions about my experience.
Then I had a call with one of the company's engineers. I had to solve an algorithmic problem. I could not finish it in time but the interviewer told me this is not a problem, I can provide my solution later via email.
After that there was an onsite interview separated in 2 main parts. One was with 2 managers, this one was a talk about the company's goals and my plans for the future.
The other one was a technical interview where I had to solve a quite similar problem than I had in the first technical call. It went well until the point where one of the interviewees stopped me because he said this approach will not lead to the solution.
So I tried with another solution, but after 2 sentences he told me this is not going to work either. He didn't justify that at all, just told me to search for another solution although I know my solution was correct.
Then I went on with another idea which seemed better than the ones before, so the interviewee did not stop me this time, but after few sentences he told me again, that this is not the good track, so I should start over from the beginning. That was very frustrating, but I managed to solve the puzzle finally.
After that they asked me some generic technical questions.
In sum the onsite technical interview felt very hostile, malignant and in general negative, almost offensive.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
What is the difference between publish - subscribe and observer patterns?
I applied in-person. I interviewed at LiveIntent (New York, NY)
Interview
I interviewed with two separate employees who were director level and above, and had reasonable chats, covering data structures and some brainteasers.
But I also spoke with two managers who were outright hostile to the point of being just a little confusing. (Full disclosure: I botched a couple easier questions due to interview nerves, so maybe that affected how they acted). They asked about an area that I'm unfamiliar with, I admitted this, then they...looked at each other and laughed, and spent the rest of the time digging in in that area. It was honestly a touch more confusing than rude, because it was so far removed from what you'd normally see in a professional environment. They were also outright rude to the HR person that I was with, to the point that I felt a touch uncomfortable just seeing it.
In any case, a company with employees that can't even pretend to be polite for a 30 minute chat? My advice is to stay far, far away.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Explain what design patterns are and why you should use them
I applied online. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at LiveIntent
Interview
The company actually contacted me to apply.
First round was as usual, a phone call, talking with a recruiter about experience and general things. The recruiter told me they were very open and as long as people understood and knew about Software Engineering, the company would help them learn (Scala in this case).
A week after, I had a technical test, in which turned out to be, they were not looking for a Senior Software Engineer, but rather a Scala guru (although they had my CV and knew before hand my experience in the language is reduced). There were no questions regarding architectural decisions, tools and considerations to take when designing a software. It was a useless and pointless whiteboard interview trying to see if you know all the tricks from the language. The interviewer was very condescending, almost disrespectful, after I explained to him that I was not expecting this type of interview specially after what the recruiter had told me.
I heard back from them the same day saying they were not interested in continuing the process.