Kraken Digital Asset Exchange Site Reliability Engineer Interview Questions
& Process

I found that many hiring processes have too many steps, take too long, and have bad communication. But Kranken's process was great – it was quick, clear, fair, practical, and they communicated well. No useless coding tests, no waiting forever or being ignored, and the interviews were about the actual job. I got an offer after only three interviews, and felt respected from the start. They have a supportive environment. The recruiters were great with communication and help. I got my results fast. I talked with potential teammates about technical stuff like I was already there. I talked about solutions I'd built before. No tricky questions.

So I've been through a few rounds of interviews for a Site Reliability Engineer role in New Zealand. I've got over 10 years of experience, and honestly, this company has been one of the worst I've interviewed with – a complete waste of time, felt like I was just a number for their HR KPIs. It started with an HR chat, then a technical assessment that wasn't super hard but time-consuming if you do it right. They said it would be straightforward after that. If you pass the assessment, you meet the team for a technical interview, then interview with the head of engineering, and finally the CTO. My process went like this: HR catchup, technical assessment, technical interview, interview with the head of engineering, and then an interview with someone from security (which was odd given the role). The HR kept rescheduling the interviews multiple times, which is really rare and made me suspicious, but I decided to see it through. The technical interview was a mix of solution follow-up and technical discussion with the team I'd be joining. After that, they said they wanted to proceed but the head of engineering was busy, so scheduling took about two weeks. Then, the day before that interview, it got rescheduled again because the head of engineering was busy. This happened another two times, with each reschedule pushing the interview back by another week or so, totaling about 4 weeks after my last proper interview. Finally, I had an interview with someone focused on security, asking low-level security questions, which felt out of scope for my role and unprepared for. Right after that, I was told my application wouldn't be continued. Given all the drama and reschedules, I think it's best to walk away early if you see these red flags, especially if you're serious about a role. It feels like a complete waste of time and just a way to fill HR's targets.

It started with a chat with HR, then a take-home assessment. Even if they say it takes 2 hours and mention what's required and optional, I'm pretty sure they expect you to spend more time and do the optional parts too. Maybe they just want to check your commitment to the new role?