Software Engineer III Interview Experience - Cupertino, California
Process
The first interaction was with a tech recruiter, which was very pleasant.
They set up a phone interview with a hiring manager. The hiring manager was knowledgeable; I instantly knew I was talking to someone who intrinsically understands programming and software design. The discussion went smoothly. I was asked mostly about handling concurrency and some algorithmic questions.
The recruiter reached back out several hours after the initial interview and set up an on-site interview loop with the team three days later. The on-site interviews were pretty straightforward, covering standard CS topics like algorithms and software/API design. They also focused on understanding users and HCI.
Everyone was very respectful and intelligent. I instantly knew that I wanted to work with those people.
They got back to me with an offer on the same day.
Questions
Nothing unexpected. Typical tech interview topics included:
- Happy numbers problem
- Implementing a lock-free data structure
- Designing asynchronous APIs
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Interview Statistics
The following metrics were computed from 3 interview experiences for the Apple Software Engineer III role in Cupertino, California.
Success Rate
Apple's interview process for their Software Engineer III roles in Cupertino, California is incredibly easy as the vast majority of engineers get an offer after going through it.
Experience Rating
Candidates reported having very good feelings for Apple's Software Engineer III interview process in Cupertino, California.
Apple Work Experiences
- 5.0Great Pay, Toxic CultureSoftware Engineer III • Current EmployeeCupertino, California, United StatesJune 24, 2020Pros: Compensation, benefits, work-life balanceCons: Secrecy, office politics, tenured elitism
- 4.0A great place to learn and growSoftware Engineer III • Current EmployeeCupertino, California, United StatesOctober 9, 2015Pros: Apple is a great place to learn and grow. There are definitely lots of opportunities to do challenging work. This definitely depends on the group you join, but my experience has been great. Yes, it is very secretive, but if you don't need to know something, you don't need to know. Simple. Depending on the group, things can feel a bit isolated, as engineers may not talk to you if you're in your office crunching away, but again, this depends on the group. Surprisingly, Apple can feel like a startup at times, with certain processes feeling incomplete or certain projects feeling a bit rushed. However, this leaves a lot of room for innovation and growth. Engineers have the freedom to enhance projects and processes at will, which is great. See something you don't like? Make it better. With deadlines, though, this is definitely encouraged to be done on your own time. Work/Life balance? Depends on the group. Mine is perfect. I am in at 8 and out by 5. I am on call, though, and I do tend to work at home a lot, especially when I'm working on enhancements or critical fixes.Cons: Food isn't free...not even at Apple or Tea. Considering food is free at pretty much all the other companies in the Bay Area, this is kind of ridiculous (particularly at Apple).
- 5.0Smart Team, Testing ChallengesSoftware Engineer III • Current EmployeeCupertino, California, United StatesSeptember 23, 2015Pros: Work with some of the smartest people in the world. Working on products used by hundreds of millions of people is an indescribable feeling.Cons: It is impossible to test software enough when your product is being used by millions of users. The law of big numbers dictates that a 99.99% success rate still leaves thousands of users with a poor experience.
Apple Interview Questions
