PrizePicks Interview Questions
& Process

I applied through LinkedIn and a recruiter reached out. The first chat was with the recruiter, who was super responsive. Then I spoke with the hiring manager, another chill person, who mainly asked about my background and some scenario-based questions. Next up was a coding assessment with three algorithm problems and some multiple-choice stuff. The final round was a two-hour panel interview. They asked me about architecting a feature, which was weird since that's not my role and I don't have experience in it. It felt a bit off, especially since in real life, feature architecture is a team effort. The rest of the panel was more scenario questions. The people were all nice, but I'm not sure what they were ultimately looking for.

The interview process is wrapping up, and honestly, it's one of the most ridiculous ones I've experienced, which isn't surprising given their approach. After an initial HR screening, I was handed a Coderbyte assessment that demands 3-4 hours of work. So, before even speaking with anyone technical, you're forced to complete multiple take-home projects. Seriously, multiple projects like Tic-tac-toe, a Todo list, and two other small apps that each take about an hour. Following that, there's a set of 15 TypeScript questions, mostly asking to predict the output of given code snippets, and they're designed to be tricky. They have other similar, confusing questions too. It's clear this screening doesn't reflect what a Senior Software Engineer actually does. I was rejected because they suspected I cheated, despite taking photos of the code during the assessment. I'm not a robot; I can read 40-50 lines of code without getting mentally stuck. And that's not even the worst part. During the take-home projects, Coderbyte was one of the worst web coding environments I've used. The code editor had issues with formatting and indentation, making the whole experience unpleasant and not representative of a real coding setup. Plus, we weren't allowed to use TypeScript – it would just throw compile errors. So, we're interviewing for a TypeScript role, but the take-homes had to be in JavaScript? Combine that with messed-up indentation, no TypeScript, and no live editing. If you somehow get through that assessment, there's a 1 hour 30-minute live coding session with four people. Because who wouldn't feel comfortable being stared down by three Senior Engineers and an Engineering Manager? Overall, the technical screening was not representative of a real coding environment, and the fact that PrizePicks thinks this is the best way to assess candidates on such a terrible platform is just sad, making me question the leadership's judgment.

It was a chill interview process. It started with a manager chat, then I had a panel interview with two senior analysts. After that, there was a technical interview that was moderately difficult. Finally, there was a VP interview focusing on SQL. I think 50 minutes is more than enough prep time for that. Overall, it was a good process. I'm not sure what else to add, so I'll leave it there. If the role involves dashboarding, I'd suggest brushing up on SQL and dashboarding skills. It seems like a really awesome company to work for, and I'd be excited about the opportunity. The culture appears to be great.

First, there was a phone screen where they asked about my resume and past experiences, and also some casual questions like if I like sports. Then, I interviewed with the head of data science. They asked some technical questions about Python and SQL, but not too deep. After that, I got a take-home test which was a sports analytics project using Python and SQL. Finally, I talked with one of the data scientists on the team. This interview was pretty similar to the one with the Head of Data Science, and we also talked about sports!