ICEYE Software Engineer Interview Questions
& Process

The process is pretty structured and has a few rounds. First thing you get is an email to sign an NDA, and they won't proceed without it. Then there's a Hiring Manager interview (60 mins). After that, you're given a case study to complete in about a week on your own time. This is followed by a Technical interview (60 mins) and a Soft Engineering Skills interview (60 mins). If you pass those, you'll have an interview with the VP of Spain (60 mins). I got through the task and the subsequent rounds, and they gave me good feedback at each stage. However, I was suddenly rejected after the interview round that followed the task completion. No feedback, no explanation, just ghosted. They expect you to post your solution as a public git repository so they can track your commit history. The technical task involved a docker container that simulates TCP sockets, where you had to read, process, and visualize data, and provide observations on waveform type and behavior. It seems like experience mentioned in forums doesn't matter much to them. Despite saying they offer sponsorship, being an international candidate was a disadvantage in the end. Even with positive discussions, good alignment, and a strong submission, the rejection felt like they preferred an EU-based candidate to avoid sponsorship costs. This is a big red flag for international applicants. If sponsorship or relocation isn't realistic, they shouldn't shortlist non-EU candidates to save everyone time and frustration.

So after I submitted the online form, I first got an automated email. Then the talent acquisition manager reached out, and we scheduled a first interview via email. I got an invite with the link. The first interview was with the TA manager, who talked about the company's culture and the interview process, explaining everything really nicely. They highlighted diversity as a strength and spent about 40 minutes reviewing my background and experience. I was told beforehand that there would be five interviews in total. The job also requires relocating to Finland, and the recruiter sent some info about how the company helps with that, like with finding a place and being flexible on the timing for family relocation. The vibe was really relaxed and friendly. We emailed a bit afterwards about continuing, but unfortunately, relocation wasn't possible for me at that time, so that was the end of the process. Overall, communication was smooth and very friendly, and it didn't feel like a stressful interview. It was professional but also personal, and I wish I met more TAs like this.

The interview process seems to depend a lot on luck. My experience with one recruiter was really bad. It wasn't stated anywhere that the interview would be recorded by AI, and I should have been able to opt out. The recruiter also seemed really uninterested, maybe because it was almost lunchtime for him. He also seemed offended when I asked if using AI was allowed for the take-home assignment, after he asked me how I used AI to boost my productivity. This left me with a bad impression of the company.