Zonar Systems Interview Questions
& Process

The interview process is incredibly long. It was two full-length interviews that they called 'pre-screening' but were just as thorough as any other interview I've had elsewhere. The in-person interview starts with arriving via the lobby to sign in via an iPad for your temporary badge. The combination of the guy behind you and the upward-facing camera means your picture will just be chest and eyes. I managed to push the pad back and arch my back to make it less ridiculous, but just in case you forgot your humiliation, you then attach your wonderful photo opt to your chest and go. The in-person part is a set of three additional interviews where everyone asks the same question at least 4 times that they already asked in the phone interview. At one point, the interviewer got mad at me for telling him the same scenario, but most of my professional life I've worked with clients whose stories and medical histories are protected by state and federal law, and ultimately, even without that gag, they kept asking the same question. I'm not sure, without going on a long rambling story to explain the context and background of another scenario, what I was supposed to do because, at the end of the day, it was the same question that yes would have had the same answer. Apparently, the HR person called me Friday and e-mailed me Monday to tell me I did not get it, which makes me wonder about Friday, but I don't even have a missed call, so even if you make it through all rounds with everyone, you could still get denied based on the HR person dialing the wrong number, so good luck. Anyway, as annoyed as I am, it is worth it; their tech is amazing, and they have some exciting changes in store that would most likely provide some really cool opportunities in the future for anyone whose number the HR lady doesn't screw up when calling back.

Applied for a TPM role, but after the interview process, they suggested I might be a better fit for an open Development Manager position and asked if I'd interview for it. I agreed. The second interview loop involved meeting 15 people from 8:30 am to 2:00 pm. The interviews themselves were okay, and I felt encouraged afterward. The issue is their hiring-by-committee approach, where every single person must agree to hire you. If even one person has reservations, you're not hired. This is tough with 15 technical people. Ultimately, the recruiter said they wanted someone with more leadership skills, which is fair. But then they also mentioned they were going with an internal candidate anyway. It makes me wonder why I spent a whole day interviewing if they already had someone in mind and weren't planning to hire externally.

It was a pretty straightforward and relaxed interview process. I applied online, and then HR reached out via email to set up a phone screening. The HR screening covered the basics like pay, benefits, and industry knowledge. After that, I had a phone interview with the department supervisor. Then, I went in for an in-person interview with the department managers. It's a pretty standard process for this company, which is quite casual, so it didn't feel like an intense interrogation, more like a relaxed chat.

First, I had a 30-minute phone screen with a technical recruiter where we chatted about my resume and overall experience. Then, I had a 1-hour interview with the Software Developer Manager. They split the interview into two parts: the first half focused on behavioral questions and diving into my past experience, and the second half involved some quick technical questions followed by a brief coding assignment.