I applied online. The process took 2 months. I interviewed at Sonos (Santa Barbara, CA) in Nov 2016
Interview
I have filled out a few online applications for different positions (all similar/related roles). For some of those, I received what seems like an automated response with one vague line that explains they're looking for someone that's a better fit for this position.
For one other I received a call from a recruiter. We spoke about my technical background and I was impressed she seemed to understand most of the tech talk (often recruiters aren't interested in that and only look for buzzwords). Then she abruptly explained they are looking for someone with more experience in the music industry. It was so awkward and confusing that I couldn't really tell if she was changing the subject or if that was supposed to be the end of the call. She proceeded to tell me she thinks there are some other positions coming soon that would be a better fit. Great, keep me posted.
For another one, I had another good conversation with a different recruiter about my background. She seemed to think I was a good fit, but it turned out they aren't recruiting for that role at my location and I'm not willing to relocate. But she was very positive and has actually reached out a couple times after that to let me know another position that might be a good fit for me. One of those, that she thought would be a good fit for me (and which I agreed) was one that I received a canned rejection email. She actually called me the same day I received that, so I asked her specifically about it. But due to their weird organization, she had no direct knowledge, but offered an idea that they were already making an offer on the position -- 8 days after it had been posted.
Overall, something just seems "off" with their recruiting process. I'm genuinely curious what goes on behind the scenes. Are they actually filling all these positions they post (with external candidates) or are they still suffering from the mess earlier this year? I'm not actually interested in working there anymore after getting such a runaround; otherwise, I wouldn't be writing this. I'm just hoping nobody else has to go through this mess of a recruiting process. I should also note that I have a few current employee references who have said I'd be a great fit with the company. The process just left me so confused about what they're looking for.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
We just talked about my related background and experience, no specific questions of interest here.
I applied online. I interviewed at Sonos (Boston, MA) in Jan 2025
Interview
recruiter call, easy technical interview, then three in depth interviews with team members. They were all very nice except for the boss, who didn't seem to take my experience seriously from the start. Got rejected in the very last round. could be related to their recent layoffs
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Tell me about a project which you are least proud of
I applied for a React engineer role. During my interview with the hiring manager, I was told that the next step was going to be a coding challenge with another engineer and they will be testing me in React and hacking a project together.
During the coding portion, I wasn't tested in React but instead a LC medium problem. Testing a front-end engineer with LC problems is a complete waste of time in my opinion. I want to add that the interviewer did not seem excited as he didn't properly introduce himself or properly conclude the interview. He just abruptly said, "ok, talk to you later" and ended the call.
Culture here doesn't seem all that great judging by the interview.
I applied online. The process took 4 weeks. I interviewed at Sonos in Mar 2022
Interview
Had a pretty decent experience with the on-site and the engineering team, but a bad experience with the recruiter - ultimately ghosted. It seems that the way Sonos interviews may vary from team to team - I interviewed for a *frontend* team.
Steps:
- Initial call with recruiter. The recruiter was late, and his answers were vague and unhelpful (maybe because he’d only been there for a couple months), and did not make me excited about joining Sonos. He was also confused by some info clearly listed on my resume, and then he gave me questionable advice on it. (I’ve gotten many interviews with other companies, so I don’t think it was a problem.)
- Tech screen - a simple assessment in javascript; the engineer was polite and kind, seemed personable.
- A prep call with the recruiter. He completely forgot about the call, and I had to email him later. When I did get a hold of him, he was not very helpful.
- On-site (split across two days, interviewing with members on the team):
- React exercise - implement a feature in an existing component
- Debugging exercise - fixing js code in browser environment
- Programming exercise (any language, not frontend specific)
- Design / system debugging - troubleshooting an issue in a system (based on the team’s actual architecture)
- Behavioral - 30m chat with manager (a series of quick “tell me about a time” questions)
I liked the team I met with - they all seemed engaged and enthusiastic about the new product they were working on. I thought they had a lengthy but reasonable and creative interview process that tested many different aspects of coding. One of my interviewers remarked that it was unfortunate that all my interview panel only consisted of white males.
Unfortunately, I never heard back from them. The very lengthy and unprofessional experience left with me with a sour taste, which was disappointing because I liked Sonos as a company. The experience with the team was pretty good though, so maybe the engineering culture is still nice to be part of…