MediaMath Interview Questions
& Process

I started with a recruiter screen, then spoke with the hiring manager. There was a technical exercise, but I was given the option to 'test out' by submitting a code sample. I submitted a small app I maintain in my free time, complete with Dockerfiles and tests, and that was sufficient. Following that, I had two more relatively brief interviews with two other team members. Everyone I interacted with, across different levels of the organization, was very professional and friendly. The recruiter was upfront about their stage in the process, and I was honest about mine. I really appreciated that. It's wild that basic transparency and timely communication are the current standard of professionalism, but here we are. Still, MediaMath, and especially their recruiter, were a rare example of a company acting responsibly and professionally. Ultimately, I declined the offer because the work at the company I ended up choosing was a better fit, and their benefits package was slightly better. MediaMath's biggest strength was their evident solid, collaborative engineering and company culture, which was apparent throughout their recruiting process.

So I had my first chat with the team director, which was way chiller than I thought, we actually had a good conversation. Then I chatted with the talent acquisition partner. After that, I had five interviews with the team members. Three were in one day, all back-to-back, and then two more on another day, also back-to-back. Next up, I got an assessment that I had a week to finish. It was tough, at least for me, but it was definitely a good mental workout. The very last step was a super chill chat with a team member and the team director again, mostly just to get a feel for my personality. And then, boom, I got the offer! The whole thing took about a month.

The interview process was a bit of a journey. It was during the U.S. Thanksgiving/Christmas time of the year. That added gaps into the process that, most likely, wouldn't be there. In hindsight I understand the questions better. Adtech is a different mindset. Not the traditional software development. Agile, yes, but what the software needs to do is quite different from a traditional business application. Most engineers come from other disciplines and need to learn/re-learn about Adtech. With that in mind, you need to be a flexible, self starter that naturally likes to learn new things on your own. There is a lot of new things to learn in Adtech. HR phone screen with a very pleasant individual. Whatever I said must have sounded like the kind of person MM wanted. Interview with technical VP. This was more technical with "how would you solve this kind of problem" to check problem solving abilities. If that goes ok, then a coding homework assignment you have 3 days to complete. If the submitted code looks interesting, a series of 3 interviews with technical team members. Lastly, an interview with the hiring manager. MM separates tech managers from people managers. The hiring manager is a people manager. By the end of that, I think we both knew I wasn't right for that job. I let the HR person know that I didn't think I was a fit. However, the hiring manager suggested I might fit better with a different job posting. One more video interview with a lead engineer on a different team. This was more informational than being asked questions. Just before Christmas I was offered a Senior Software Engineering position.

I was first contacted by the Director of Talent Acquisition on LinkedIn, and we set up a phone call to discuss the job and salary. Then, I had another call with a member of the Client Services team to go over more details about the role and assess if I was a good fit for MediaMath. The interviewer was very patient and answered all my questions. The third interview was a 2-hour in-person meeting with four team members, where I learned about the client services structure and met potential colleagues. Finally, I visited the office for a mock presentation. It was tough, but a good way to practice public speaking in front of the team. This simulation will be really helpful in my future at MediaMath. The transparency and kindness from HR and Talent Acquisition were the best parts of the interview process. MediaMath truly cares about its employees, setting them apart from other companies.