Senior Software Engineer Interview Experience - Los Altos, California
July 1, 2012
Positive ExperienceNo Offer
Process
The box office building looks like a law office, but once inside, you quickly realize you are in a high-tech startup. There's a giant fluorescent green slide spiraling down from the second floor.
Folks are young here, though the hiring manager was in his fifties. I was interviewed by seven or eight employees, and they all asked very technical questions. The interview started at 1 p.m., and I didn't leave until 8:30 p.m. Brutal!
Questions
How to perform a parity check on computer memory, in less than linear time.
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Interview Statistics
The following metrics were computed from 3 interview experiences for the Box Senior Software Engineer role in Los Altos, California.
Success Rate
67%
Pass Rate
Box's interview process for their Senior Software Engineer roles in Los Altos, California is incredibly easy as the vast majority of engineers get an offer after going through it.
Experience Rating
Positive100%
Neutral0%
Negative0%
Candidates reported having very good feelings for Box's Senior Software Engineer interview process in Los Altos, California.
Box Work Experiences
3.0
Weak engineering leadership
Senior Software Engineer • Current Employee
Los Altos, California, United States
October 18, 2015
Pros: Great compensation, flexible work schedule, exciting projects, and bright, cooperative engineers.
Cons: Over the last few years, Box has successfully brought in some very strong people with vast technical/leadership experience. These individuals were a head above existing middle managers. Respect for leadership dwindled, and upper management reacted by promoting the managers who had lost the backing of their more senior reports up the corporate ladder, away from dealing with actual projects and developers, where they were doing even more damage.
5.0
Great coworkers, great management
Senior Software Engineer • Current Employee
Los Altos, California, United States
September 18, 2015
Pros: - Very smart and capable coworkers to learn from.
- Transparency from management about goals and direction of the company.
- No micromanagement; engineers are trusted to do the right thing.
Cons: Box is growing rapidly and is somewhat understaffed, which means there is a lot of work to be done.
4.0
Opportunity, but can be misguided
Senior Software Engineer • Current Employee
Los Altos, California, United States
April 29, 2015
Pros: - Lots of room to stretch your legs and take initiative.
- Excellent engineers working on hard problems in all corners of the engineering org.
- Very product-focused.
- The company has a clear vision and it's well-communicated by the management.
- Lots of great managers that care about their teams deeply.
- Excellent benefits and perks.
Cons: Lots of technical debt that piles up.
Sometimes too product-focused; long-standing problems don't get resolved.
Teams are unevenly balanced. Some teams are jam-packed with very senior engineers, and some are exclusively junior engineers.
Very strong NIH attitude. Third-party solutions are often rejected for silly reasons.
Lots of internal tension between teams, especially around resources. Managers can get extremely territorial over engineer time and even code.
- 3.0Weak engineering leadershipSenior Software Engineer • Current EmployeeLos Altos, California, United StatesOctober 18, 2015Pros: Great compensation, flexible work schedule, exciting projects, and bright, cooperative engineers.Cons: Over the last few years, Box has successfully brought in some very strong people with vast technical/leadership experience. These individuals were a head above existing middle managers. Respect for leadership dwindled, and upper management reacted by promoting the managers who had lost the backing of their more senior reports up the corporate ladder, away from dealing with actual projects and developers, where they were doing even more damage.
- 5.0Great coworkers, great managementSenior Software Engineer • Current EmployeeLos Altos, California, United StatesSeptember 18, 2015Pros: - Very smart and capable coworkers to learn from. - Transparency from management about goals and direction of the company. - No micromanagement; engineers are trusted to do the right thing.Cons: Box is growing rapidly and is somewhat understaffed, which means there is a lot of work to be done.
- 4.0Opportunity, but can be misguidedSenior Software Engineer • Current EmployeeLos Altos, California, United StatesApril 29, 2015Pros: - Lots of room to stretch your legs and take initiative. - Excellent engineers working on hard problems in all corners of the engineering org. - Very product-focused. - The company has a clear vision and it's well-communicated by the management. - Lots of great managers that care about their teams deeply. - Excellent benefits and perks.Cons: Lots of technical debt that piles up. Sometimes too product-focused; long-standing problems don't get resolved. Teams are unevenly balanced. Some teams are jam-packed with very senior engineers, and some are exclusively junior engineers. Very strong NIH attitude. Third-party solutions are often rejected for silly reasons. Lots of internal tension between teams, especially around resources. Managers can get extremely territorial over engineer time and even code.
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