Form3 Backend Engineer Interview Questions
& Process

The interview process was very transparent and upfront. The recruiter went into great detail about what was expected and how the interviews would be structured before anything began. They also thoroughly explained the pre-interview stages. There was a take-home exercise available on GitHub. However, the actual interview that followed the take-home felt more like a check-the-box exercise rather than a deep dive into problem-solving. It was more about asking 'Have you heard of X tech?' or 'Have you heard of Y tech?'. It wasn't overly difficult but didn't feel particularly meaningful either.

The interview process included a recruiter call, a coding test, and then a tech team video call. My experience was pretty rough because I had to dedicate a significant amount of time to a test without even knowing which team I'd end up on. I definitely learned that I don't want to invest that much time anymore without understanding the team and the specific project.

First I chatted with a recruiter from Form3 who told me about the company and asked about my background. They were really helpful with answering my questions and making sure I understood the process. Then, I had to complete a coding challenge where I needed to build a Go client that would interact with a part of their API. The assignment wasn't overly complex, but it was important to carefully read the API docs and produce production-ready code with good tests. The main focus was on the core features, and I was supposed to note down any future improvements in the README. There wasn't a strict deadline, so I could take my time to make a quality solution. If the assignment met their standards, the next step was a 3-part interview with three engineers. The first part involved explaining the Form3 architecture and reviewing my coding assignment. The second part consisted of technical questions and discussions, focusing on concepts like the OSI model, TCP, UDP, HTTP, and authentication rather than a specific programming language. The third part was a live debugging exercise to mimic a problem in a distributed system. The whole thing lasted about 90 minutes, and I was pretty anxious beforehand, but the interviewers were all super friendly and professional. They seemed invested in my success and helped me present my best self. Overall, it was a great experience! The day after the technical interview, the recruiter called to say they were pleased with my performance and discussed the offer details. The total time for the process varies depending on how long you take on the coding task and when you schedule the interviews. It took me about 2-3 weeks, but Form3 was always quick to respond. They were responsive, professional, and kind throughout, making it one of the best interview processes I've encountered.