Zenoss, Inc. Interview Questions
& Process

I had an initial phone interview with their HR Recruiter which went well, and then a follow-up phone interview the next day with the hiring manager that was over an hour long and we both thought it went great. The day after that, another call with the HR Recruiter confirmed this and they asked me to come to Austin, TX the following week for a day of interviews with senior managers. They were in a hurry to fill the position before their global conference. I arranged my family logistics to catch a 5am flight to Austin, planning to fly back late afternoon and pick up my kids at 8pm that same evening. The day in Austin involved 4 interviews plus lunch (5 hours) with senior managers and the hiring manager. Some questions were tough, but I felt it went well overall. The last meeting was a debrief with the same HR Recruiter, who said I'd hear back in 4 business days. After 9 business days and 2 email inquiries to the same HR Recruiter with no response, including about reimbursing my travel expenses, I heard back from HR. They apologized for the delay and said they decided to go with other candidates, which I figured. They provided feedback which was appreciated, and also the form for submitting expenses. The fact they eventually got back to me meant a lot because everyone has moments where they get so busy that important things slip by. I was drawn to Zenoss for their Core Values, like 'Customers for Life,' but you can't be great for customers if you aren't great for employees, or even those you're trying to hire. Based on this, I'd be hesitant to interview with Zenoss.

The setup was a little intimidating. There was 1 phone interview, then 3 interviews the first day, and 2 on the second day. The first real interview was with the tech staff. Pretty good guys just laughing a ton. The second was with the same manager that was originally on the phone call, not a lot extra happening there. The third was with his boss, an extremely pleasant and smart woman who was personable and led you to different topics. She was easy to read in that you could tell what she really wanted to hire, so I suspect that people who don't get through her have some kind of legitimate reason to not work there. The second interview day puts you right front and center with their CEO, and holy crap was this guy smart. He made me want to pick his brain for hours. But really, he just seemed to want to get an idea of who you are and he was very nice too.

Started with a Manager round, then got two coding questions to solve in 2 hours. After passing that, I was invited for an onsite interview in Austin, TX. The first onsite round was a group discussion with 4 people about design questions, where the expectation was for answers from someone with 10+ years of experience, and one person was very rude. The third round was with the manager, followed by an interview with the VP. They don't cover travel expenses, which was a turn-off.

Got contacted by a recruiter on LinkedIn to see if I was interested. After a quick chat with them to confirm, I had phone screenings with the manager to see if I'd fit in, then a phone screening with the team lead to check my technical skills. Then I had an onsite with different team members that lasted about 4 hours. Lastly, I had final interviews with senior management and the CEO.