Domino Data Lab Software Engineer Interview Questions
& Process

I was contacted by Domino for an engineering role. The initial recruiter call was positive and gave me a sense of what to expect in the interviews. Instead of typical data structures, algorithms, or real-world problems like building an API, the technical challenges were unique, role-specific real-world problems using specific technologies. This approach was unusual, as I haven't encountered it in previous roles. The problems focused on troubleshooting related to the role, rather than core computer science fundamentals. While this method could assess on-the-job performance, it clearly targets candidates with a very specific troubleshooting skill set, which is hard to prepare for without prior experience in the same role. My interaction suggested the role would involve significant troubleshooting and integrations, with minimal actual building. Overall, my experience with Domino was negative, and I wouldn't advise engineers to interview there unless they possess these niche troubleshooting skills and are comfortable with non-standard technical interview questions.

I sent in my application online after spotting their job posting on HN Who's Hiring. First up was a chat with Nick, who then sent me a coding challenge. After that, I had a call with Chris to go over the challenge, and then we met on-site, just Nick, Chris and I. We looked at some of their current code and I had to copy a feature that was already in the product. I guess my solution wasn't quite what they were looking for, and they let me go politely. I'd suggest brushing up on the visitor pattern before going on-site. I did want to mention that the team I met were all really cool and enthusiastic guys :-)

I got referred to Domino in December 2016. They were super quick to schedule interviews because I had another offer coming up. Thomas and the team were really good about setting things up even though it was the holiday season. I went in for interviews two times. The first time was more of a culture fit chat where I talked with Nick, Chris, and Thomas about the company, their experiences there, and how I'd fit in. I had a good time chatting with them. The second time I went in for a technical interview, meeting with Chris, Dmitriy, and Andrew. The interviews covered: 1) a detailed look at a big project I'd done before, 2) a coding exercise focusing on design patterns, architecture, and basic concurrency, and 3) a talk about product development strategies, especially customer interaction, and a short coding comprehension test. I thought the interviews were thorough and tested what they needed to. They focused on strategies and patterns instead of just memorized facts, which I think is a smart way to interview.