Crytek Software Engineer Interview Questions
& Process

The interview process started with a technical interview with two very knowledgeable leads, which was a very interesting and enjoyable experience. This was followed by a take-home task. While the specifics of the task are confidential, it involves working with legacy code on a Windows PC, which could be challenging for Mac users. The provided code quality was exceptionally poor, and the task's instructions were rather unclear. My understanding was that the goal was to optimize the code without altering its logic or fixing bugs, and it turned out this was indeed the expectation. This second stage of the interview was quite messed up and not a pleasant experience.

I applied online for this role that's usually tough to fill, thinking they'd respond quickly since not many people apply. They got back in 4 days saying my CV was under review. A few days later, they set up a first interview, which was supposed to be technical. It was weird because there was no HR chat or phone screening first. They didn't even ask basic stuff like my start date. The interview had 3 interviewers who were nice and respectful. But honestly, being nice in an interview isn't that telling, as everyone tries to be polite initially. What really shows a company's vibe is how they structure their hiring process and communicate the steps, outcomes, and requirements. This tells you more about their thinking and structure than just politeness. The interview was supposed to be technical, but they mostly asked high-level questions about my experience and avoided technical details. There were some awkward silences when they ran out of questions. Still, it felt positive because the interviewers were respectful and the job sounded interesting. The day after, the recruiter asked me to do a long-term test due in 7 days. This was unexpected since there was no technical interview, especially for a senior role. Experienced people have a lot on their plate, and committing to a long test isn't ideal. I agreed anyway. When I got the test, it turned out to be for a different field, unrelated to my CV! I complained and said I'd only do the general programming parts. This was a huge red flag for me, but I went ahead because I needed to move to Germany for family reasons and preferred a local job. Normally, I would have backed out. Expecting a candidate to do a long, demanding test for a different discipline without a technical interview is just not right. It shows they want your commitment but won't invest time in providing a relevant test. Plus, giving long tests to experienced candidates feels like an old-school approach from the 80s; modern companies have better ways to assess skills. I spent a full weekend, about 24 hours, on the test and sent it back. They replied a week later with a rejection and some low-value feedback. Comments like 'I don't understand this part' or vague C++ guidelines that weren't even applicable to the test or production code, and some incorrect points. This suggests the reviewers didn't really read my code, even though they expected me to dedicate significant time to their test. The HR also mentioned they found a better-suited candidate, which is strange considering they told me earlier they were struggling to find applicants for this role. It seems the recruitment team wasn't in sync with the hiring managers. The whole process spoke volumes. My advice to senior software engineers: before agreeing to any long-term test, get a commitment for a follow-up technical interview with the tech team to discuss your technical choices. Otherwise, withdraw your application. Don't forget that when a company asks you to use your personal time for a lengthy task and then responds with unclear feedback and dismisses your input, it's a form of power abuse. Senior developers can push back against such hiring practices. Let's work together to improve the industry for all developers!

It began with a 45-minute technical phone call with some of their programmers. The questions were very specific and focused on the area of my specialization, but nothing surprising at this point. After that, I was sent a programming test, and I was given a week to complete it. The test was really challenging and cost me more than 10 hours of real, hard work. Then they flew me to Frankfurt for an onsite interview. The interview process lasted almost 6 hours, it was very intense and included several in-depth conversations with different people as well as a debugging test.