IKEA Software Engineer Interview Questions
& Process

After my resume was shortlisted, I got invited for a hiring manager round. It was a pleasant discussion with only behavioural questions. I learned about ikea and its values. The second round was with the Engineering Manager for a 45-minute discussion about my skills, experience, and interests, with some behavioural questions. No technical questions were asked. Then there was an offline tech assignment to build a warehouse application for product management. I heard the next discussion would be based on my assignment solution, but instead, they asked vague, random questions, like a stress interview, with a few tech questions for general understanding. The final interview was a 30-minute session with a senior manager, mostly behavioural questions and two general tech questions. A follow-up with the Engineering Manager was scheduled but canceled last minute, and I received the offer two days later.

It was a really chill and nice conversation with a tech manager, super experienced and easy to talk to. Not like the tough interviews I've had with IKEA and others. He mentioned they were looking for a tech lead. I let him know I might not have the exact skills for that. He got that the role might not be the best fit. Still, I feel it was valuable, and they might pass my info to other teams that could be a good match.

The interview process for a Senior Software Engineer role at IKEA's new tech hub in Amsterdam spanned about three months, from March to June 2021. Unfortunately, despite reaching the final stages and being informed of a good fit, the position was ultimately unavailable due to IKEA hiring too many developers. The steps involved: initially, several intro calls with the recruiter. Then, a brief 30-minute video interview with the section lead, which felt a bit short for him to give full attention but seemed promising. This was followed by more recruiter calls. Next, another brief 30-minute video interview with the team lead, which also felt time-constrained but had positive indicators. After that, a technical assignment was given. It was somewhat vague, but the emphasis was on a solid plan rather than precise interpretation, despite the limited time for full implementation. This was then followed by a 1-hour video technical interview which was quite uncomfortable. The interviewer seemed unprepared, hadn't read my work summary, and judged my assumptions instead of the implementation, showing unfamiliarity with my chosen tech stack and making unfair negative assumptions. Thankfully, IKEA acknowledged the issues with this interview, and the process continued. The next step was a final HR interview, which was supposed to happen soon. However, it took a full month, with multiple follow-ups from my end, for IKEA to inform me that the role was no longer available because they had over-hired developers.