Cleo (United Kingdom) Backend Engineer Interview Questions
& Process

My interview experience with Cleo was good. Everyone I talked to was chill and friendly. They replied and gave updates pretty fast. The whole thing took under two weeks. First up was a chat with a recruiter to learn about the company. Then, I had an interview with the team to see if I'd be a good fit. It had a mix of value and tech questions. Next, a tech interview with two parts: a pairing interview (not too hard) and a system design interview. I got a lot of info on what the work would be like, which was helpful. Lastly, I interviewed with an engineering manager for the typical 'tell me about a time when...' questions, checking culture/values fit.

It was a really positive experience! The whole interview process was super organized, with tons of info online and helpful check-ins and emails from the talent team along the way. All the interviewers were really nice, asked insightful questions about my background, and they were amazingly fast at getting back to me after each step! It honestly felt very personal, totally different from a huge company I was interviewing with at the same time. The interview process really made a difference in my decision to accept the job offer.

The interview started with HR, then a discussion about engineering principles with two engineers, and finally a 30-40 minute system design discussion covering data modeling, ticket scoping, and a 40-50 minute shared screen pairing exercise. Although I didn't pass the third round, the process was clear and well-executed. HR informed me of positive feedback after the third round and promised a follow-up call on Monday, which didn't happen. After I emailed HR, they informed me I was rejected because I apparently didn't demonstrate the engineering principle of 'do the simple thing' in my interviews. It's disheartening to be given false hope before rejection.