Scalyr Interview Questions
& Process

The interview process was pretty straightforward. The team knew what they wanted to ask, but each conversation was only 30 minutes, so it was tough to get a full picture. The office space is really open and not fancy (now in San Mateo). I wasn't sure about accepting an offer until I could see the actual technology, as I didn't want to end up at just another company focused on log management. That's why I pushed for a second interview on-site, but surprise, I never got to see the tech, which says a lot.

I only experienced the first step, a phone screen, and didn't move on. The questions felt fair and fitting for the role, though delivered a bit suddenly. This interview was quite comically awkward/bad, but it was totally not the interviewer's fault at Scalyr. I'd scheduled it during my lunch and ended up having to take the call outside in a park because nowhere else was available (it's usually quiet there). Basically, there were a bunch of ridiculous interruptions, like a kite landing on my table and a bird pooping on my laptop, which messed up my performance. (To be fair, I was also nervous and hadn't interviewed in a while.) Anyway, I'm sharing this for a laugh and to say it didn't go well for me, but it wasn't their fault. The interviewer seemed knowledgeable and I'd consider interviewing with them again.

It was a pretty standard interview process for a Bay Area tech company, with five interviews in total. I spoke with the recruiter, the manager, and even the co-founder in separate phone screens. Then there was an on-site interview. They also invited me back for a culture fit hike afterwards. It was cool that the Scalyr team, who all have impressive backgrounds, were more interested in getting to know me instead of bragging about themselves, which seems to be the trend lately. Overall, it was a good experience.

This interview process was one of the best I've had, with great care and energy. It started with a phone screen covering UI fundamentals and Scalyr's team, projects, and culture. The onsite involved 1-1 interviews focusing on technical challenges, engineering best practices, and culture fit, with interviewers being collaborative and helpful. After the onsite, Kathleen provided detailed information and answered all my questions regarding the offer, going the extra mile. I was very happy with the entire process and recommend Scalyr to any engineer looking for an exciting new company.