SoftServe Interview Questions
& Process

It was four rounds: first an intro, then C++, Python, and a 2-hour robotics deep dive. I aced the C++ and Python parts, even though the questions were mostly about data engineering, ML, and networking, which had nothing to do with robots. The final round seemed to think five years of building autonomous mobile robots from scratch wasn't enough if I hadn't personally written a particle filter or used CUDA, even though I'd shipped production Kalman filters. Neither of those were in the job description, of course. Seems like the requirements changed on the fly. If you're not a walking encyclopedia of every algorithm ever published, don't waste your afternoon. They weren't hiring senior robotics engineers, they were auditioning for the 'Robotics Jesus'. Bring your miracles.

The interview process involved an initial call with the recruiter, followed by an interview with the hiring manager and the team. There was supposed to be a final interview with the CMO, but they didn't show up and didn't give any notice. After the no-show interview with the CMO, the recruiter called to apologize and mentioned that the CMO had given the green light for an offer, contingent on the hiring manager's recommendation, which had been positive. The recruiter then promised an offer via email within 30 minutes, stating they were finalizing it. However, they went silent for a week. When I followed up via text about waiting for the offer, they informed me the process was on hold. This whole situation was incredibly frustrating and unprofessional, especially since they were about to send an offer and then abruptly stopped communication without updating me. It felt like a complete waste of my time.

The interview process was pretty chill. It included checking English skills and some specific tech skills for the program. The intern program is usually for junior or pre-junior devs, but some questions felt like they were for higher-level juniors. I guess they don't have a strict point system to pass, but more about whether you have the basics down. Then, in the next online interview, they'd check if you're eager to learn and how you'd fit the company culture. Overall, it was a good interview experience.

Started with a recruiter intro call, then met with two senior robotics architects. After that, there was a C++ technical screen, and the final step was a mock consulting interview, again with those same two architects. The mock consulting call was the best part, where the architects acted as customers, which is a really smart approach for consulting roles. Unfortunately, my lack of enthusiasm for consulting came through, and I was not prepared for that meeting at all. The biggest downside was that the initial conversations focused too heavily on the technical side of the role. By the time I understood how much of a SOLUTIONS architect and consulting-focused the job really was (my mistake for not realizing this earlier), a lot of time had already been spent by everyone. Even though I knew the last interview didn't go well, I was bummed to not hear back from the recruiter, not even a rejection email.