Technica Interview Questions
& Process

I had to read two whitepapers on neural networks and then write an analysis/critique of them. They didn't actually discuss the papers or my write-up with me. The interview itself was pretty casual. There were a couple of moments where I definitely didn't know what they were asking, but the team seemed to appreciate honesty. They told me to just be upfront if I didn't know something. By the end, we were joking around, and it felt really laid-back. I think I'd be comfortable working with these folks.

It was a pretty thorough process! It started with a phone screen, then a quick take-home assignment that was pretty easy and only took a few hours to complete. Basically, they wanted me to create a Java program with specific functionality and send back all the files within a week. I felt like I nailed that part. The final round was a more challenging take-home assignment that they gave us two weeks to complete. I recall having to design a GUI that took in some information and then outputted other information. Looking back, it wasn't that difficult, but as a beginner in Java, it was quite intimidating because it required using technologies I'd never encountered before. I ended up needing to consult my mentor, Google, Stack Overflow, and pretty much everyone I knew. Ultimately, I wasn't able to deliver a perfect GUI, but I submitted what I could, along with a detailed explanation of where I struggled and how I would handle similar situations in the future if I got the chance to join the Technica team. A few days after that, I received my offer letter!

The interview process was really fast. They first sent me 2 papers about neural networks and asked me to write responses for them before talking to anyone. After that, I had a chat with the VP of engineering and some people from the R&D team. The recruiter mentioned a salary of about 60k, which seems incredibly low given the technical skills needed and the requirement to work on-site. I don't know anyone who would accept 60k for a data scientist role in NOVA.

First round was with a recruiter, who was friendly and communicated well. After 3 phone interviews, I had an onsite panel interview, followed by a final interview with the CEO. The company has some good SMEs running their shop. However, the job description kept changing, leadership seemed poor and there is high attrition.