Shelf Engine Interview Questions
& Process

I was reached out to by the head recruiter for a PM position. After a chat with the team lead, I was set up for a full interview loop, culminating in a meeting with the CTO. Before starting, I was asked to provide all my references and have them fill out an online form. Since I was still employed, I said I couldn't provide current employer references until after securing an offer. I stressed that I didn't want my current company to know I was interviewing. The recruiter assured me I could use older references and understood my situation. I then met with three team members and the CTO. I felt the loop was too short and insufficient, so I was scheduled for another chat with a product team member for more context and evaluation. During this time, my recruiter was let go, and I was transferred to a new recruiter. I then learned the CTO had contacted a current colleague, telling her I was interviewing, which she brought up to me. I was mortified but continued with the fifth interview. After that, the new recruiter sent several emails about difficulties scheduling a debrief, and then I heard nothing more for over a month. The lack of professionalism and respect was surprising, especially after hearing such good things about the culture and meeting some great people.

The company reached out because of my grocery background for a CSM role. The first interview was scheduled for the next day but got canceled last minute due to the interviewer being busy and restructuring. They said they'd reach out when they were ready again. About a month later, the job was reposted, and I applied again. Three weeks after that, the initial interview was set up. It involved basic grocery and data questions, and the interviewer seemed unfamiliar with grocery terms. They asked about my software comfort, which was odd given my grocery experience. After the interview, they asked if I was still interested and mentioned a case study interview next. A few days before that, they sent a PDF and Excel files for a role-play with a customer, but it was vague. I presented typical grocery metrics like profit, shrink, and sales. The interviewers seemed confused, indicating it wasn't what they wanted. No feedback was given, and a week later, I was told they were moving on with other candidates. The poor communication, long delays, and vague case study made for a bad experience. I felt they lacked understanding of the grocery business and focused too much on tech.

The interview process was fully remote. I got a phone call from the recruiter and she scheduled me to have a technical interview with one of their software engineers. The interviewer was late, so we started late and they mentioned we didn't have a lot of time. The interviewer asked about my work history, cutting me off midway through my second job experience to ask about my current experience instead. Then we moved to the technical part where I was asked questions. We ran over the allotted time, but the interviewer said they still had time to answer my questions about the position. After my second question, they cut me off again because they had to go to another meeting. This was the entire process. Despite being cut off and rushed, I didn't feel pressured or scrutinized, which was a nice change from other technical interviews. I felt like they either already had someone in mind for the job or didn't take me seriously as a candidate.

The interview process was pretty standard. It started with an initial screen with the hiring manager, followed by a take-home data challenge. Then there were 3 technical interviews focusing on Python, SQL, and ML, and finally, an interview with the CTO. Overall, the experience was fantastic. The recruiters, hiring manager, data scientists, engineers, and leadership were super communicative, friendly, and collaborative. It really seems like a great place to work, and everyone is really driven by the mission to reduce food waste.