simplehuman Interview Questions
& Process

The recruiter I spoke with during the initial screening wasn't very friendly. Their questions felt rehearsed and they didn't really seem interested in my resume. They had a kind of dismissive way of talking on the phone, which made the conversation unpleasant. Also, the recruiter wasn't knowledgeable about the specific team I was interviewing for and couldn't provide clear answers to my questions.

It was pretty long and extensive for what seemed like an entry-level job. It started with a phone screen, then a math/logic/grammar assessment. After that, I had a hiring manager call. The final part was an on-site interview where I met with 5 different people, including the co-CEO and an engineering manager, one after the other. The interviewers sometimes came off as a bit condescending when talking about my past work. I didn't get any follow-up email after the final interview, though I guess neither I nor the interviewers felt it was the right fit.

So I had an initial phone screen where they asked about my background. After that, I had a 30-minute chat with the engineering lead/director. The first half was about them telling me about the company and role, and me sharing about myself. The second half was a hypothetical design problem: how I'd re-design a diving board to make it better for users. I felt good about that part because I could show how I think and solve problems on my feet. Then came the take-home assignment, which was new for me in an engineering interview. I had a week to create a CAD design, keeping manufacturing constraints in mind, and estimate a Bill of Materials (BOM). I spent the week brainstorming and used a structured design process. I sent in a slideshow with my process and the final design, thinking I'd get to present it and explain it. But a couple of days later, I got an email saying they weren't moving forward with me. I was pretty surprised to be rejected without even discussing my design; it felt like getting a grade on homework. I did ask for feedback to learn from it, but it's been weeks and no response.

First, I got a call to talk about the job. Since it was covid, the next step was a Microsoft Teams meeting that was about 15 minutes. After that, I had to do an online test to see how I'd handle customer questions. They didn't offer me the job because someone else had more experience, which is fair. They gave me feedback and thanked me for my time, which was nice.