Open Source Software Developer Interview Experience - Germany
Process
This is rather a review of a complete experience (company, recruiting process, etc.) rather than the interview itself.
- The job application portal is almost unusable (ICIMS):
- No proper application tracking
- No job description (this gets exceptionally problematic when you have multiple job applications titled the same way, think "Software Engineer")
- No Job ID search
- Horrible combination with the previous point
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The recruiting team added a random person - outside of the Arm company - to the technical interview, mistaking them for an Arm employee with similar name/surname. Formally, this is a data transfer to an unauthorized 3rdparty. The situation got resolved when I explicitly noticed (in an email) that the wrong person had been added.
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Almost impossible to reach the recruiting team: either the email system is broken or the recruiting team is understaffed so much that they could not reply to emails. Ever.
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The job description did not state much and it turned out that the position I applied for is completely outside of my domain of expertise: fairly different tech stack, fairly different R&D topics.
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After two technical interview rounds, nothing happened for a month (I think literally a month). At this point any reasonable person would consider the interviews failed and get on with life. Turned out - after another phone call from a recruiter, and after an extra week of silence - I have passed the technical interviews and the company was ready to give me an offer.
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When speaking with the hiring manager, which is an optional, candidate-requested call (my understanding) - that only happened because I wasn't sure about multiple things (see 4) - turned out that the technological stack was actually relevant and the R&D topics were interesting. Without this part of the interview process, my picture of the job was utterly different.
Questions
Generally a "C developer" interview for a "C++ developer" position:
- Questions around key concepts of programming, computer memory, systems programming
- Interesting, concise during-the-interview programming assignments
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Interview Statistics
The following metrics were computed from 1 interview experience for the Arm Open Source Software Developer role in Germany.
Success Rate
Arm's interview process for their Open Source Software Developer roles in Germany is extremely selective, failing the vast majority of engineers.
Experience Rating
Candidates reported having very negative feelings for Arm's Open Source Software Developer interview process in Germany.
Arm Work Experiences
- 5.0Great Employer with fair compensationSenior Software Engineer • Current EmployeeGrasbrunn, GermanySeptember 11, 2023Pros: - Fair compensation - Very interesting and challenging topics to work on - Work on actual real-life projects that affect millions of end users - Reduced work hours - Encourages volunteering for social causes during work hours - Very generous sabbatical and child leaveCons: - Very strict travel guidelines and restrictions - Push for return to office instead of creating incentives to come back - Fewer non-monetary benefits compared to other big players in the industry
- 5.0Intern review of ArmSoftware Engineering Inern • Former EmployeeCambridge, United KingdomSeptember 17, 2026Pros: Good company culture, everyone is very supportive and learning is encouragedCons: The office campus location is not the best, because it is in a corner of Cambridge and far from the city centre.
- 4.0Great Work cultureSenior Software Engineer • Former EmployeeCambridge, United KingdomJune 25, 2021Pros: There is a great culture.Cons: It is challenging times with the potential sell.
