Liftoff Software Engineer Interview Questions
& Process

The interview process was really smooth and everyone was super nice. My recruiter was very helpful and answered all my questions, also helping speed things up. It kicked off with a 30-minute recruiter screen where they asked some basic questions about my past work and technical experience. After that, I had a 45-minute technical screen, which led into their version of a 'super day.' The super day had three parts: two technical screens that were 45 minutes to an hour long, and then a 4-hour coding challenge where I got to build a project using some starting code. A few days later, I heard back that the super day went well and I had one last 45-minute chat with the hiring manager.

The interview had 4 steps. First, a recruiter reached out and discussed the role, getting to know me better. Then, there was a screening interview where I was asked algorithm questions, which I completed. Following that, three rounds of interviews took place. The initial two were similar to the screening, focusing on algorithms. The third round involved a fun game. Finally, I met the hiring manager. The whole process felt smooth, and the recruiter was helpful and quick to respond.

The interview process started with a Code Signal assessment with 4 questions, which I completed with a perfect score (1200/1200). This was followed by a phone interview on CoderPad, where I also performed well. The interviewer asked a question about printing matrices, focusing on clean code principles. The third round involved two questions and a coding project. The first question was straightforward, but the second was a challenging three-part LeetCode hard problem, of which I solved two parts. It felt like there might be a referral bias. The coding project had three difficulty levels, suggesting a preference for functional solutions over highly designed ones. I intentionally left some minor bugs to observe their reaction, which seemed indifferent, aligning with my preference for prioritizing a working product. Despite some minor inaccuracies in my naming of design patterns, the core concepts were sound. I was ultimately rejected and am awaiting feedback. My key takeaways are that they prioritize speed over design and that knowing someone is likely crucial for getting hired, evidenced by the limited number of public interviews. The product is interesting, and the process was generally decent, but I'd only recommend it if you have an internal connection.