SUSE Interview Questions
& Process

I put a lot of time and effort into SUSE's interview process for the Release Engineer role, including preparing and going through several rounds. Sadly, after the interviews, the communication was really bad and showed no respect for candidates. The recruiter said I'd get feedback within a week. But during that same week, they reposted the job ad without telling me. When I asked, they said the team was on holidays and would give me details in January. January came, and it took until the middle of the month for them to send a generic rejection email with no explanation or feedback, just a standard apology. This whole thing – promising timelines, reposting the job silently, using holidays as an excuse, and then sending a late rejection – felt really disrespectful. It was a waste of my prep time and gave me a really poor impression of SUSE's hiring process. I won't apply again and suggest being careful if you care about good communication.

I applied for Position A, and the interviewer suggested Position B. The interview stages went great: first, an HR person (15 mins) asked general questions and some basic tech questions. Then, the manager had a technical discussion about my experience. Finally, a panel of three engineers went deeper, quizzing me on Kubernetes, etc.

I applied for the Video Producer and Project Manager position at SUSE because I thought it was a perfect fit for my career path. The job details matched my background and ambitions, and I was really excited about the chance to help build a video team from the ground up. After sending in my application, I contacted the hiring team directly to let them know I was very interested and enthusiastic. The interview process was quite involved, with 5 stages all in a row, but it all went really well. I got an offer within a week. During the salary talk, I asked for 10% more than the recruiter had told me was the budgeted amount. I felt good about this because of the positive feedback I got during the interviews, and I thought the request was fair. But, the very next day, they took back the offer without any explanation. I was crushed. This has never happened to me in my 8+ years in the industry. When I asked the recruiter if my salary counteroffer was the cause, she just said, “It didn’t help that you seemed enthusiastic, and we felt blindsided that you tried to ask for a higher salary.” This was super frustrating since I had already turned down other job offers and a freelance gig from my old employer because I was planning to join SUSE. The whole thing left me in a tough spot, with no job offer and no other options. I had already celebrated with friends, only to have the offer pulled. It was emotionally rough, and I felt really disrespected. I tried to negotiate salary professionally and honestly, but got this response. This whole thing has made me doubt myself and the company. It made me realize that, as a woman—especially a Black woman—salary talks can be awkward and risky, even when things seemed to go smoothly. What's the worst part is that the company will just move on like it's nothing, while actual people have to deal with the fallout. I really wish I hadn't applied, and I regret not knowing how it would turn out. For anyone interviewing with this team, I'd say to be careful. Even if they offer you a job, don't assume it's secure. They could take it away at any time, no matter how good the process seems.

It began with a quick chat with HR, and then the main event was a two-hour technical deep dive. The vibe was pretty chill, even though the questions were tough. My interviewer was really nice, making the whole thing feel more like a collaborative think-tank than a formal interview. It was less about rapid-fire Q&A and more about building on ideas. Like, we'd discuss a problem, then explore potential pitfalls and how to navigate them. The interviewer was super helpful, offering guidance when I needed it.