Real-Time Innovations Software Engineer Interview Questions
& Process

The interview was of average difficulty, involving C and OS questions. It was conducted on a live coding platform with an interviewer present. If I got stuck, the interviewer would offer guidance. They were looking for my thought process, so I was encouraged to vocalize my thinking, even if I couldn't complete the final code.

The interview had two phone interviews where they asked basic questions about linked lists, the network, and threads. Then there were 4 on-site interviews. It seemed positive and simple, but I didn't get an offer. I think it's because RTI couldn't provide a competitive salary compared to other tech companies in the Bay Area. Company culture shows very long tenure (~10 years), which is unusual in the Bay Area, so they usually start with low salaries. It's hard for the company to offer high salaries for senior new hires. My advice is don't waste your time applying or just use it to warm up for other interviews.

They reached out after finding my resume in my school's database. The first step was a phone screen covering C/C++ fundamentals (like the meaning of '&') and my career goals. The on-site involved several one-on-one meetings with engineers and senior staff, including VPs and the CEO. There was also a technical assessment that required writing application code, a design spec, and defining networking concepts. The individual chats weren't overly challenging. I did some problem-solving tasks with an engineer, while the non-technical interviewers focused on my ambitions and future plans. Given my lack of experience in systems, networking, and C/C++ concurrency/multi-threading, I believe a stronger background in those areas would have been beneficial.