Lots of work and politics
Lots of work and politics
You will get very tough working here, if you survive. People are generally very motivated and smart. Ample chance to travel to China, if that's important or interesting to you.
The politics are brutal, if you dare enter. Forget about it if you don't speak/read Mandarin Chinese. Diversity is almost nil --- almost 99% Chinese, so you better like it that way. You will give up your phone, your privacy, your life to this company if you intend to last more than a year or two.
Treasure your international (non-Chinese) employees; they are your connection to the outer world. Cut them some slack, will you? If you let them be affected by Chinese politics, it will cause a massive backlash, meaning Alibaba will have to retreat to being a mainland-China-only company.
Additional Ratings
Was this helpful?
Alibaba Interview Questions
Alibaba Interview Experiences
Software Engineer
Three questions: two LeetCode hard, one LeetCode easy. One dynamic programming question and one two-pointer question. I was only able to solve one, which is really bad. I should have solved all the two-pointer questions.
Data Engineer
The interview process consisted of three rounds. There were many technical questions in these rounds. Additionally, one round involved a cross-functional interview with the product team. The process also included one coding problem and an IQ test at
Machine Learning Engineer
The interview was conducted entirely through a series of online meetings. During these meetings, the interviewers asked me detailed questions about my background, my research experience, and my specific knowledge in machine learning algorithms and ap
Software Engineer
October 13, 2025Three questions: two LeetCode hard, one LeetCode easy. One dynamic programming question and one two-pointer question. I was only able to solve one, which is really bad. I should have solved all the two-pointer questions.
Data Engineer
SeychellesSeptember 25, 2025The interview process consisted of three rounds. There were many technical questions in these rounds. Additionally, one round involved a cross-functional interview with the product team. The process also included one coding problem and an IQ test at
Machine Learning Engineer
Hangzhou, Zhejiang, ChinaAugust 22, 2025The interview was conducted entirely through a series of online meetings. During these meetings, the interviewers asked me detailed questions about my background, my research experience, and my specific knowledge in machine learning algorithms and ap
