Software Engineer Interview Experience - San Jose, California
Process
The interview process involved two phone interviews followed by one onsite interview.
The two phone interviews were very short and focused on my former experience and current background in Machine Learning.
I also answered very basic questions about programming and data structures.
Everything went smoothly, and the team members were excellent, making me feel very comfortable and confident.
Questions
Onsite interview: very easy questions in mathematics and data structures.
Few of the questions that I still remember:
- What is the best data structure to find the min and the max in a numerical sequence?
- Another question was about how the k-means algorithm works and how to compute the mean.
I was also asked to compute eigenvalues and eigenvectors of a matrix.
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Interview Statistics
The following metrics were computed from 37 interview experiences for the eBay Software Engineer role in San Jose, California.
Success Rate
eBay's interview process for their Software Engineer roles in San Jose, California is extremely selective, failing the vast majority of engineers.
Experience Rating
Candidates reported having mixed feelings for eBay's Software Engineer interview process in San Jose, California.
eBay Work Experiences
- 3.0Stable Business, Slow PaceSoftware Engineer • Current EmployeeSan Jose, California, United StatesJune 7, 2012Pros: Stable business, turn-around strategy seems to be working.Cons: Dull environment, slow development cycle.
- 4.0Very brief surveySoftware Engineer • Current EmployeeSan Jose, California, United StatesApril 5, 2009Pros: - Good, competent colleagues. - Innovations in work are possible. - The company can make good profits by segmenting the formats clearly. - Good facilities within the company. Freebies are still available, even with the current economy.Cons: Innovations are not leveraged by the company. Improve the processes and regain the technology DNA within the company. Managers are not competent enough to undo the process-heavy lifecycle and adapt an agile lifecycle for products. There are too many meetings for people at all levels, and it seems the only way to communicate across groups and across layers of hierarchy is by meeting.
- 5.0Great People, Quiet WorkSoftware Engineer • Current EmployeeSan Jose, California, United StatesJune 23, 2025Pros: Great people and great culture.Cons: Not much activity.
eBay Interview Questions
