Software Engineer Interview Experience - San Francisco, California
Process
I have a PhD in Computer Science from a top school and was referred by a friend. The process was as follows:
- Talked to a cofounder over the phone about the company (vision, status, interview process, etc.)
- Phone interview
- Onsite interviews (gave a talk about my PhD research, followed by 5 sessions including lunch)
- Coding assignment
The hardest interview question I received in all my interviews was from Databricks. There was one question that started innocently simple but expanded into fancy algorithms, computer architecture, cache locality, and API design.
Questions
A lot of algorithmic questions, design questions, and systems-level optimization questions.
A lot of behavioral questions as well.
A non-trivial coding assignment.
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Interview Statistics
The following metrics were computed from 24 interview experiences for the Databricks Software Engineer role in San Francisco, California.
Success Rate
Databricks's interview process for their Software Engineer roles in San Francisco, California is extremely selective, failing the vast majority of engineers.
Experience Rating
Candidates reported having negative feelings for Databricks's Software Engineer interview process in San Francisco, California.
Databricks Work Experiences
- 4.0Growth But Bad WlbSoftware Engineer • Current EmployeeSan Francisco, California, United StatesJune 24, 2023Pros: Fast-growing, might have a good IPO.Cons: Bad work-life balance. Benefits not good.
- 5.0Great engineering and strong product focusSoftware Engineer • Current EmployeeSan Francisco, California, United StatesSeptember 23, 2017Pros: Databricks has a world-class engineering team and a strong eng/product focus amongst the founding and executive teams. Fast revenue growth and a chance to work on a widely adopted technology impacting the analytics space. A culture of humility, hustle, and customer obsession. All the founders are still deeply involved in the company and help maintain the culture.Cons: Growing pains are consistent with any startup growing at this pace. Most pains are addressed with time, but it can take time.
- 5.0Strong engineering culture, transparent leadershipSoftware Engineer • Current EmployeeSan Francisco, California, United StatesJanuary 4, 2021Pros: - Growth is top-tier; the IPO will be big. - Strong engineering culture. - Leadership (and the company as a whole) is more transparent than any company I have ever worked for. - Hackathon every quarter, which is a great way for engineers to work on things they want to. - Extremely competitive healthcare, benefits, and pay.Cons: - No 401k match. - Onboarding remotely was a little isolating.
Databricks Interview Questions
