Integral Ad Science Interview Questions
& Process

So first there was a short 15 minute call with HR, after that I had a behavioral call where we went over my resume and some typical behavioral questions, and then there were two technical interviews which were both like LeetCode medium questions.

I was contacted by IAS for a role they needed to fill quickly. I spoke with HR, then the hiring manager, and then went into the office for several back-to-back interviews. Throughout this, the HR person made it sound like the job was mine, just a matter of getting feedback and an offer. However, after a week with no word post-interviews, I followed up and was told I wouldn't be moving forward. Given the time invested and that they reached out, I asked for feedback. The HR person got upset I chased her, and I explained it was natural given how things were presented. She finally admitted the rejection wasn't about my interviews but their decision to hire someone less senior. I think it was an internal mix-up about team needs, leaving me with a bad impression of IAS's hiring process.

There were 4 rounds where they asked 1-3 experience questions, one design, and one coding question. There was one technical conversation interview, which felt like a solution architect interview. The interviews were quite easy. They tried to fit in a mini behavioral/system design/coding question into each interview, which was a bit unusual but acceptable. I was disappointed with one of the interviewers; he seemed inexperienced for his career level. He was about 10 minutes late and rushed through the instructions in a hurried tone. Usually, at even a tier 2 company, if an interviewer is late, they'd offer to reschedule. This guy just said, 'Ok tell me your intro, and then immediately go into the first question which is to say something you did recently. No wait - just tell me something you did in the last two years. But something you did cool'. He continued talking like that the whole interview, contradicting his own instructions. For the system design part, he asked a standard question about converting a batch system to a streaming system. He also seemed unprepared regarding system design tools, insisting on using Zoom's whiteboard to 'save time'. He kept changing his mind about the tool, saying 'Pick a tool you like - NO WAIT just use this Zoom whiteboard. Yes use the Zoom whiteboard… just use the zoom whiteboard'. He seemed to think this conversational style was making up for his lateness.

The whole thing took about 1.5 months. First, there was a recruiter interview (in English). Then, two interviews with team members, one of which included a case study presentation (also in English). The case study was tough because I had to learn about the product being sold using only website info, essentially learning on the fly without prior product training. Excel skills are a must for the case. Despite the difficulty, the interviews were pleasant, and the people I met clearly explained the role. The response time after the final interview was a bit slow (14 days), and I had to follow up.