Engineering Lead Interview Experience - London, United Kingdom
Process
I was contacted by one of their HR recruiters on LinkedIn. She proposed organizing a phone call to present the position she was recruiting for and see if I might be a good fit. She provided all the details she had regarding the company's mindset, technology, products, and the role itself (Engineering Lead). She was very kind, and it was a pleasure to talk to.
Next, a Skype interview was scheduled for one hour with the SVP of Engineering and a VP of Engineering. We discussed my experience as a developer and they asked technical questions regarding the technologies I had worked with.
They gave me a technical challenge to complete within a week. The result was positive, but it took them longer to provide feedback than it took me to complete the test – about 10 days.
Then, an on-site, face-to-face interview took place with two Engineering Leads. This was an extremely interesting and pleasant interview. The individuals were smart, cooperative, and challenged me on design and architecture decisions. I really enjoyed it. The interview was split into three parts:
- Presentations
- Pull request review, identifying issues in the code
- Designing the architecture of a new API.
Following that, a face-to-face interview was held with the CTO and the VP of Product. This is where I learned that an Engineering Lead position in Checkout would come with management responsibilities, which was very important to them. The role would still require some coding, but it would be more along the lines of, "I've written a piece of code, I've cracked it, now do something with it." I wasn't expecting this from an Engineering Lead position, as I prefer to get my hands dirty and work with my team as a whole to bring projects to life. I'm not a huge fan of the management aspect, and it was not emphasized in the job specification. It was written as "Lead and mentor teammates," which I am fully supportive of.
I was offered the position of a Senior Software Engineer, with the possibility of an update to Principal Engineer in the future. I declined the offer, as it was not the role I was initially contacted for.
In the end, the recruiting process was extremely positive, even though I decided not to accept their offer. The HR person was very kind and responsive. They paid for my travel expenses, as I was coming from France, and even upgraded me to Business Premier for the return journey.
Questions
What is your definition of DDD?
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Interview Statistics
The following metrics were computed from 1 interview experience for the Checkout.com Engineering Lead role in London, United Kingdom.
Success Rate
Checkout.com's interview process for their Engineering Lead roles in London, the United Kingdom is extremely selective, failing the vast majority of engineers.
Experience Rating
Candidates reported having very good feelings for Checkout.com's Engineering Lead interview process in London, United Kingdom.
Checkout.com Work Experiences
- 5.0Amazing tech company to work forEngineering Lead • Current EmployeeLondon, England, United KingdomApril 1, 2021Pros: Tech-focused and vertically lean.Cons: A very fast and high-throughput work environment.
- 5.0Great environment, fast-growing companyEngineering Lead • Current EmployeeLondon, England, United KingdomMarch 22, 2021Pros: Everyone at Checkout.com has been super supportive and friendly during my time here. The People team is stellar (hi Louis!). The Commercial team is great, and the business is cash-positive, which takes away a lot of pressure from most people's jobs.Cons: The company is going through hyper-scaling. Processes tend to be outdated by a few months, but that creates opportunity for change to try out new things. Hiring for certain roles can be slow (even though the company is doubling in size every year!). Not every department is under the same amount of pressure to deliver. Communication within the tech department could be better.
- 5.0The place to beEngineering Lead • Current EmployeeLondon, England, United KingdomSeptember 30, 2020Pros: Checkout, despite its ever-increasing size, continues to feel like a nice, small startup. It is a true meritocracy. Are you working hard enough? It will be noted and rewarded. Are you not? You will see other people who do and hopefully get motivated. Salaries are also really competitive. The CEO is a levelheaded, bright individual.Cons: Due to how quickly the company grows and the type of clients it deals with, people work really hard, and that sometimes leads to long hours. You will never be asked to do so, but you are expected to deliver, and sometimes the only way to do so is to work overtime.
