Lookout Software Engineer Interview Questions
& Process

The interview process included 4 rounds, all focused on coding. There were also some architecture and design questions. Fastpath was a key area, so knowing C/C++ would be a definite plus. The interviews touched on debugging and developing AI generated code. The overall feedback was prompt. They were also good at asking for feedback. The code challenges themselves weren't too difficult. The main context was switching and fastpath.

The interview process at lookout was pretty disappointing. A recruiter reached out and said they'd pass my resume to the hiring manager. The hiring manager then scheduled an interview quite a while later. There was a coding test and some technical questions, which I thought I did really well on. But, even with a perfect output on the coding test and doing well in the technical interview, I wasn't selected. It felt like the interview was just for show, maybe they already had someone else in mind. It was pretty discouraging to do well and then not move forward.

HR from the company called me after finding my resume, likely on Monster, and asked me to send it over. Then I had a 1:1 phone interview with their lead scientist. He asked me some programming questions, like how to sort arrays, and also screened me on my knowledge of antivirus and malware protection. Even though I'm a security expert in other areas, I don't know much about that. The questions were pretty standard for a phone interview, which is usually just a screening. I was open to the interview because I thought it'd be a cool chance to learn new tech and broaden my security expertise. But, I did have some doubts because it's a small startup that mostly makes free software for phones, and online comparisons showed their products weren't as good as more advanced paid products from big competitors. Still, it's often more fun to work for a smaller company where you have more responsibility and feel more valued. After the phone interview, I never heard back from them.