Knock Software Engineer Interview Questions
& Process

The interview process was pretty straightforward. The recruiter was mindful of other opportunities I had going on to help speed things up if needed. First, the recruiter reached out, and we had a phone screen where we discussed the role and the interview format. Then, I talked with the Engineering Manager for the team (who I think co-founded Knock). It was a casual, non-technical chat about the role, the team, and the technology. Following that conversation, I got a take-home test. It wasn't strictly timed, but they suggested around 2 hours, with a maximum of 4. It was mainly a code structure and design test related to their product, and it was a bit tough (no complex algorithms or data structures involved). After that, I had a chat with a lead engineer who reviewed my test, but we didn't actually talk about the test itself. Instead, we discussed the team and specific tech again. No more tests were given after this. Unfortunately, they had already decided on another candidate, so my process ended there. There was supposed to be another technical interview and some meet-and-greets, but that didn't happen.

I got a call from an internal recruiter on the team, and we did a basic screening. After that went well, they set up a video interview with the team lead. When I spoke with the team lead, it became clear the job description wasn't a good match for the candidate they were actually looking for. They mostly asked about the "bonus" stuff in the job posting, which I didn't have much experience with. That's cool if that's the skillset they need, but the job posting should have been clearer. The interviewer also didn't seem ready, asking questions that felt unprepared and made up on the spot.

I interviewed and felt the process was really about checking if I'd fit their culture. The recruiter's feedback made it clear to me that they're a bunch of egotistical and weird people. They really push their company culture, so you have to be all in, always saying positive things. They might even try to trick you into admitting something negative, like a weakness, so watch out for that.