Unruly Software Engineer Interview Questions
& Process

First there was this phone call, then an onsite interview. The phone call was 60 mins long, but the interviewer mostly talked for about 50 mins, explaining what's good and bad for the company. If I didn't like it, I could just skip the rest. For the first 40 mins of that call, I barely got to speak, like only 3 sentences, and was cut off when I tried to give details or ask things. Then I answered questions for maybe 7-8 mins, and the interviewer was talking again for the rest of the time. At this point, I figured it wasn't for me and I probably wouldn't accept an offer, but I kept an open mind and went for the face-to-face interview, thinking maybe I was wrong. It became clear in the first round though - the tech stack seemed shallow, most development is done with off-the-shelf cloud products. The tech doesn't seem to need much knowledge of performance, scaling, threading, or systems beyond what the cloud providers specify. No questions on data structures or programming language features. The coding assignment involved doing a task in a very specific way the interviewer wanted, instead of the best way. Questions, suggestions, or discussions about options were totally not allowed. Instead of testing analytical or coding skills or personal skills, it felt like I needed to score points by coding in a certain specific way. It didn't help that the interviewer spent 25 minutes of the 60-minute actual task explaining how it had to be done in a specific 'correct' way, which honestly wasn't the best or even a good way to do the task. It wasn't testing clean coding practices, deep language knowledge, or analytical skills, just the ability to follow instructions and mechanically write code. Strong hint of micromanagement and a hierarchical setup. Then there was an onsite interview which included a presentation.

The interview process involved 5 interviews: an initial phone call, an architecture session, technical interviews for Java and Javascript, and a final chat with an executive. The first phone call was a standard mutual fit discussion. The next three interviews were conducted together. The architecture interview presented a hypothetical scenario asking for ideas on how to build software within a dynamic company environment, which was enjoyable. The Java interview consisted of a coding exercise (kata) focused on problem-solving approach and Test-Driven Development (TDD) skills. The Javascript interview was similar, involving code completion and discussion on test effectiveness. The entire experience was positive, although more breaks would have been appreciated. The final interview was more of a cultural fit discussion with an executive, offering a chance to discuss career aspirations and ask questions. The overall process took a while due to my need to provide notice at my current client, but I would have been happy to interview regardless of the outcome. Unlike other London interviews, this process was notably pleasant and stress-free, thanks to the accommodating recruiter and kind interviewers.

It was a 3 stage interview. First was a phone screen with the Product Lead and a Senior Developer, we talked about my past experience and why I wanted to join Unruly. Second was an onsite interview, split into two parts, with a Senior Product Developer and another Software Developer. The first part was about drawing out the high-level architecture of a project I worked on. The second part was a pair programming session implementing some JavaScript code. Third was the final interview with the Talent Associate, Senior Product Developer, and Global SVP for Data. This started with reviewing my CV and talking about previous work. Then there was the #DeliverWow moment, and a final chat with the SVP who told me more about the job.