Rio Tinto Software Engineer Interview Questions
& Process

The process began with an HR interview for background checks and standard HR questions. Then there were two user interviews: the first was preliminary with basic work questions, and the second was more advanced and technical, involving troubleshooting scenarios. Finally, there was an interview with the COO, focused on management.

I got referred for a mid-senior role, even though my title wasn't senior. They set up a time, but it was super unprofessional and frankly, degrading. When I got there, they were running late. The receptionist pointed me to my interviewer, who was still with another candidate. He totally ignored me as he was chatting by the elevator, and I only got acknowledged after the other person left. Turns out, he was late because he was saying goodbye to that person. Red flag #1. My second interviewer was remote and had to leave partway through. I was told to talk into their personal laptop, which the remote person was watching me on. The whole interview was purely technical. The guy next to me opened a REPL on his personal laptop and started giving me commands to type. It was really awkward, especially since I use a Mac and usually increase the text size 'cause my vision isn't great, but mostly because it was his personal computer and I was being broadcast to the other interviewer. I tried hard not to squint or lean in. The instructions were robotic and fast, testing my coding, comprehension, processing speed, etc. I did ask for clarification when needed. My fumbling on the keyboard must have shown I was uncomfortable, 'cause the interviewer said the whole thing is 'designed to make me uncomfortable and stress me out'. He defended it by saying everyone there is interviewed this way and it shows everything they need to know. He also made some nasty remarks like, 'well, you don't have x, or y skill, but at least you've got z', which just made me feel awful. I think I was there for 1.5 hours instead of 50 mins because he was having fun. I eventually had to stop it because I felt like I was being mocked. I paused, made eye contact, and clearly said 'I don't know' to a question about a technology I hadn't researched for this interview. I'd researched mining interviews, especially technical ones, but this was nothing like that. I suspect he didn't want to interview me, maybe doing it as a favor, and the decision was already made. It was my first technical interview, so I didn't realize how bad it was until I talked to experienced engineers. They confirmed it's not normal. I doubt other candidates were treated like this, especially the more 'traditional' ones he chatted with at the elevators. I really hope it's not because I'm a woman, that would make it even worse. Unsurprisingly, I never heard back.

So first you start with a resume screen. If you have projects or internships, you'll probably pass. Then there's an online assessment with logic questions. Finally, an in-person group interview where you'll work on a project together, followed by one-on-one interviews with developers asking about your technical and personal skills.