I applied through a recruiter. The process took 6 weeks. I interviewed at Samsara (San Francisco, CA) in Jun 2022
Interview
I went through a series of technical and non-technical interviews. The process went really smoothly, and they were really flexible with scheduling meetings around my own schedule. Everyone was very prompt for the interviews and during the technical interviews they were mentally present and engaging throughout the entire interview. The recruiters were very gracious and patient with me throughout the whole process.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
I was asked questions in relation to the business and my personal career vision. I was asked a series of technical questions that were more "real-life-scenario" questions rather than typical abstract LeetCode type questions; which I found really refreshing. Some of the technical questions asked were in direct relation to a subset of business related technical challenges which gave insight and inspiration into the work itself.
One of the worst interview experience that I had, the interviewer came more than 5 mins late. Then he gave me a question to solve and then straight away got busy on his phone. Some of the decisions that we
Only had an initial call with a frankly clueless recruiter. Could tell me very little about the role, what I would be working on, or even the tech stack. Interrupted me constantly and kept asking me if I had any more questions when she couldn't even answer the few I did have. Probably the worst HR phone screen I've ever had, and I've had a few.
Recruiter round was smooth and professional. However, the technical interview didn’t match what was described. The prep materials clearly said no Leetcode, and focused on Samsara's system related.
I prepared accordingly, but the interview ended up being a standard Leetcode medium. Disappointed by the mismatch — if algorithm questions are preferred, let candidates know.
Advice to others:
Prepare for Leetcode
