Tessella Software Engineer Interview Questions
& Process

The first interview was a phone call that lasted about an hour. We talked about my interest in the role and some basic coding questions. It felt pretty relaxed, more like a chat. The second interview was a full day at the Abingdon office, starting at 9 AM and wrapping up around 4 PM. A big part of the day involved a programming task I worked on, with breaks for presentations and lunch. I also had to give a short presentation on a topic of my choice to show my presentation skills. Lunch was at a pub with a staff member, and I got to see a presentation about what the company does. The day ended with me presenting the coding task I completed. The coding task itself wasn't too hard, though working with the internet for it was a new experience for me.

The interview process involved a first round with HR that was about 40 minutes long and covered usual basic topics. The second interview started with a 12-page medical questionnaire, which felt inappropriate for candidate selection. I also submitted some example documentation I was asked to bring. Following that was a programming exercise, estimated to take 2-3 hours of straightforward work, conducted in their busy developer office. I met a team leader who was supposed to be available for questions about the exercise, but he seemed annoyed when I asked for help. Later, I met with a director and gave a 10-minute presentation on a tech topic as requested. The director commented that my topic was boring compared to a previous candidate's presentation on circuses. For lunch, a manager took me to the pub, and he was more friendly. We returned to the office to finish the programming exercise. After the time was up, I demonstrated it and did a code walk-through with two interviewers, answering straightforward questions. I was not offered the job and did not receive a reason. The company came across as arrogant and quite geeky.

Got referred by a friend, then applied online and got a phone call. It was a chill chat with HR. Then I got invited to their Abingdon office for an interview day. I was late because my alarm didn't go off but they were cool about it. When I got there, I met some people and then got a programming task. It was pretty simple, could've done it in an hour, but I spent all day on it to try and impress. They looked at my solution at 4pm, tried to break it, checked my code, and asked questions. Make sure your code handles invalid inputs well, they were really into that. Then I gave a short presentation and had another chat with HR about contract stuff. I told them I had another offer with a deadline.