Canonical Security Engineer Interview Questions
& Process
Real candidates share what happened, how many rounds they had,
and how the experience turned out.
Based on 23 interview experiences · FREE TO READ
Candidate interview experiences
First-hand accounts from people who interviewed at Canonical.
Canonical
Cryptography Engineer
Entry Average Negative experience No offer 2 rounds
Interview process
Recruiter call Take home
Interview formats
Technical Other
Before they reached out, I had to answer some questions about my high school grades and take a weird IQ test. Then I was given an assignment to complete, and after that, I was removed from the process.
Confirmed questions4 questions
- Which high school subject did you excel in the most?
- What was your best subject in high school?
- Tell me about your high school grades.
Canonical
Security Engineer
Mid Average Neutral experience No offer 3 rounds
Interview process
Recruiter call Take home Technical screen
Interview formats
Behavioral Technical
They reach out and are super welcoming. They give you tons of info about their interview process and even set up a 'candidate page' with everything. There's a written part with like 20 questions covering your education from way back in high school and what you've been up to since. I thought this was pretty cool because it let me really think about my answers and take my time to craft them. I especially liked that they let you explain your answers instead of just a simple yes or no. After that, there's an assessment that's kind of like an IQ test, but not exactly. I did well on it, and you can download a summary of your results from your candidate page. The person handling my application generally replied to my emails. What I didn't like was that after I sent in all my answers and took the assessment, I didn't get any feedback and was told a few days later I wasn't moving forward. My email asking for feedback went unanswered. For a process this long, I'd expect some feedback, especially since they mentioned three different people anonymously review your written answers to decide if you move on. Some feedback would be expected, or at least appreciated after spending so much time on it.
Confirmed questions2 questions
- Did you get a college degree, and if not, what was the reason?
- What have you been doing since high school?
Canonical
Security Engineer
Entry Average Positive experience No offer 2 rounds
Interview process
Recruiter call Take home
Interview formats
Other
Right now I'm in the first stage of the interview process, which is a written test. Also, as part of the application, I had to write about my high school performance, detailing my academic accomplishments and how they show my skills and preparedness for what's next. This written part is super important for me to show off my skills and background.
Confirmed questions1 question
- Can you tell me about your high school education and performance?
Canonical Security Engineer Interview Questions
Quoted word for word from Canonical interview reports.
“The IQ test was like this: John is lighter than Jane. Who is heavier?”
Read reports →“Given a CVE, what information can you find, how does it affect our products, and what are the mitigation approaches?”
Read reports →“Here is a diagram, what is the design flaw and how would you fix it?”
Read reports →“Who are Canonical's main competitors, and what strategies should Canonical use to be successful against them?”
Read reports →“In high school, how did you do in math and science subjects, and which one was your best?”
Read report →“In high school, how did you do in language and arts subjects, and which one was your best?”
Read report →“Did you get a college degree, and if not, what was the reason?”
Read report →“How deep is your understanding of a Linux distribution, all the way from the kernel?”
Read report →“What were your final high school or university entrance results, and could you explain the grading system?”
Read report →Formats, difficulty and experience
Across all 23 Canonical interview reports.