G-Research

Software Engineer Interview Experience - London, United Kingdom

March 1, 2018

Positive ExperienceNo Offer

Process

First stage was a programming exercise that could be done at home - rather tricky, but very fun to work on.

This was followed by on-site interviews, which lasted ca. 4 hours with 3 interviews in total, each led by 2 people. These mostly focused on technical questions, testing both a broader understanding of programming principles, as well as some more in-depth questions. The questions were fair and well thought through; each solvable rather quickly in principle, but allowing for different approaches while leaving room to explain one's thought process behind whatever approach was taken; and presented in a way that would allow the interviewers to give certain tips to formulate a solution, rather than strict "do or do not know it"-questions).

Feedback after the interview was given within 3 working days.

All in all, a tough but very enjoyable experience - which is quite a rarity to say about any job interview.

Questions

NDA

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Interview Statistics

The following metrics were computed from 13 interview experiences for the G-Research Software Engineer role in London, United Kingdom.

Success Rate

15%

Pass Rate

G-Research's interview process for their Software Engineer roles in London, United Kingdom is extremely selective, failing the vast majority of engineers.

Experience Rating

Positive46%

Neutral8%

Negative46%

Candidates reported having mixed feelings for G-Research's Software Engineer interview process in London, United Kingdom.

G-Research Work Experiences

Poor values

Software Engineer • Former Employee

London, United Kingdom

December 4, 2023

Pros: If you have a particular knack for workplace politics, you can probably make quite a lot of money here. They get away with poor management because most of the engineers here are genuinely solid and good to work with so good work gets done pretty much irrespective of what managers seem to say or do or what meetings they hold. If you get past the early years and they trust you a bit more you might be given a bit more freedom / respect, but early on an unnecessarily large amount of your workload will just be convincing management that you are making good use of your time.

Cons: Unless you're a favourite, management will likely assume that what you're doing is a waste of valuable company time and keep telling you to do more important work, but be unable to elaborate when asked what they're looking for. Further, they don't seem to understand the necessity of prioritization. I was routinely given extra work items despite already being stretched, and if you present a proposed priority for work items, you will essentially be told "I want it all now" and then they'll be upset later when you weren't able to do everything at once. If they do notice the good work you've done it's because you've told them about it time and time again, and even then your feedback will be lukewarm. It's simply poor management and leads to feeling like your work isn't at all valued.

Software Engineer • Former Employee

London, United Kingdom

December 4, 2023

Pros: If you have a particular knack for workplace politics, you can probably make quite a lot of money here. They get away with poor management because most of the engineers here are genuinely solid and good to work with so good work gets done pretty much irrespective of what managers seem to say or do or what meetings they hold. If you get past the early years and they trust you a bit more you might be given a bit more freedom / respect, but early on an unnecessarily large amount of your workload will just be convincing management that you are making good use of your time.

Cons: Unless you're a favourite, management will likely assume that what you're doing is a waste of valuable company time and keep telling you to do more important work, but be unable to elaborate when asked what they're looking for. Further, they don't seem to understand the necessity of prioritization. I was routinely given extra work items despite already being stretched, and if you present a proposed priority for work items, you will essentially be told "I want it all now" and then they'll be upset later when you weren't able to do everything at once. If they do notice the good work you've done it's because you've told them about it time and time again, and even then your feedback will be lukewarm. It's simply poor management and leads to feeling like your work isn't at all valued.

I enjoy coming to work and get paid well

Software Engineer • Current Employee

London, United Kingdom

Pros: - Fantastic work/life balance (it's never been suggested that I need to work a single hour over my 40 hour contract) and decent benefits including plenty of paid holiday - Highly competitive compensation, significantly more so than existing salaries on Glassdoor would suggest. - Varied work with a range of tasks keeps things interesting - Pretty relaxed low-stress, no-blame workplace where engineers and managers are focused on solving problems together instead of pointing fingers.

Cons: - Limited WFH to only a few days a month for some roles was implemented. - Major restructuring recently has left a significant operational support burden for many teams. - Historically tight security policy and everything being integrity controlled can make it harder to make new things.

I enjoy coming to work and get paid well

Software Engineer • Current Employee

London, United Kingdom

Pros: - Fantastic work/life balance (it's never been suggested that I need to work a single hour over my 40 hour contract) and decent benefits including plenty of paid holiday - Highly competitive compensation, significantly more so than existing salaries on Glassdoor would suggest. - Varied work with a range of tasks keeps things interesting - Pretty relaxed low-stress, no-blame workplace where engineers and managers are focused on solving problems together instead of pointing fingers.

Cons: - Limited WFH to only a few days a month for some roles was implemented. - Major restructuring recently has left a significant operational support burden for many teams. - Historically tight security policy and everything being integrity controlled can make it harder to make new things.

Paranoia and low morale

Software Engineer • Current Employee

London, United Kingdom

January 7, 2024

Pros: The perks included new tech, intelligent colleagues, high pay, and a budget for socials and personal development.

Cons: Low morale due to high workload and exodus of best talent, layoffs at start of year claiming streamlining then frustration from upper management that productivity dropped, work is mostly systems migrations instead of actual new feature building. Decisions from the owner get no pushback despite negative impact, random reversals of policy from senior management and middle management questionable value, upward feedback discouraged. Surveillance throughout the building and all computer systems, paranoia is part of the culture

Paranoia and low morale

Software Engineer • Current Employee

London, United Kingdom

January 7, 2024

Pros: The perks included new tech, intelligent colleagues, high pay, and a budget for socials and personal development.

Cons: Low morale due to high workload and exodus of best talent, layoffs at start of year claiming streamlining then frustration from upper management that productivity dropped, work is mostly systems migrations instead of actual new feature building. Decisions from the owner get no pushback despite negative impact, random reversals of policy from senior management and middle management questionable value, upward feedback discouraged. Surveillance throughout the building and all computer systems, paranoia is part of the culture

Poor values

Software Engineer • Former Employee

London, United Kingdom

December 4, 2023

Pros: If you have a particular knack for workplace politics, you can probably make quite a lot of money here. They get away with poor management because most of the engineers here are genuinely solid and good to work with so good work gets done pretty much irrespective of what managers seem to say or do or what meetings they hold. If you get past the early years and they trust you a bit more you might be given a bit more freedom / respect, but early on an unnecessarily large amount of your workload will just be convincing management that you are making good use of your time.

Cons: Unless you're a favourite, management will likely assume that what you're doing is a waste of valuable company time and keep telling you to do more important work, but be unable to elaborate when asked what they're looking for. Further, they don't seem to understand the necessity of prioritization. I was routinely given extra work items despite already being stretched, and if you present a proposed priority for work items, you will essentially be told "I want it all now" and then they'll be upset later when you weren't able to do everything at once. If they do notice the good work you've done it's because you've told them about it time and time again, and even then your feedback will be lukewarm. It's simply poor management and leads to feeling like your work isn't at all valued.

1.0
Poor values
Software Engineer • Former Employee
London, United Kingdom
December 4, 2023
Pros: If you have a particular knack for workplace politics, you can probably make quite a lot of money here. They get away with poor management because most of the engineers here are genuinely solid and good to work with so good work gets done pretty much irrespective of what managers seem to say or do or what meetings they hold. If you get past the early years and they trust you a bit more you might be given a bit more freedom / respect, but early on an unnecessarily large amount of your workload will just be convincing management that you are making good use of your time.
Cons: Unless you're a favourite, management will likely assume that what you're doing is a waste of valuable company time and keep telling you to do more important work, but be unable to elaborate when asked what they're looking for. Further, they don't seem to understand the necessity of prioritization. I was routinely given extra work items despite already being stretched, and if you present a proposed priority for work items, you will essentially be told "I want it all now" and then they'll be upset later when you weren't able to do everything at once. If they do notice the good work you've done it's because you've told them about it time and time again, and even then your feedback will be lukewarm. It's simply poor management and leads to feeling like your work isn't at all valued.

I enjoy coming to work and get paid well

Software Engineer • Current Employee

London, United Kingdom

Pros: - Fantastic work/life balance (it's never been suggested that I need to work a single hour over my 40 hour contract) and decent benefits including plenty of paid holiday - Highly competitive compensation, significantly more so than existing salaries on Glassdoor would suggest. - Varied work with a range of tasks keeps things interesting - Pretty relaxed low-stress, no-blame workplace where engineers and managers are focused on solving problems together instead of pointing fingers.

Cons: - Limited WFH to only a few days a month for some roles was implemented. - Major restructuring recently has left a significant operational support burden for many teams. - Historically tight security policy and everything being integrity controlled can make it harder to make new things.

5.0
I enjoy coming to work and get paid well
Software Engineer • Current Employee
London, United Kingdom
May 19, 2024
Pros: - Fantastic work/life balance (it's never been suggested that I need to work a single hour over my 40 hour contract) and decent benefits including plenty of paid holiday - Highly competitive compensation, significantly more so than existing salaries on Glassdoor would suggest. - Varied work with a range of tasks keeps things interesting - Pretty relaxed low-stress, no-blame workplace where engineers and managers are focused on solving problems together instead of pointing fingers.
Cons: - Limited WFH to only a few days a month for some roles was implemented. - Major restructuring recently has left a significant operational support burden for many teams. - Historically tight security policy and everything being integrity controlled can make it harder to make new things.

Paranoia and low morale

Software Engineer • Current Employee

London, United Kingdom

January 7, 2024

Pros: The perks included new tech, intelligent colleagues, high pay, and a budget for socials and personal development.

Cons: Low morale due to high workload and exodus of best talent, layoffs at start of year claiming streamlining then frustration from upper management that productivity dropped, work is mostly systems migrations instead of actual new feature building. Decisions from the owner get no pushback despite negative impact, random reversals of policy from senior management and middle management questionable value, upward feedback discouraged. Surveillance throughout the building and all computer systems, paranoia is part of the culture

2.0
Paranoia and low morale
Software Engineer • Current Employee
London, United Kingdom
January 7, 2024
Pros: The perks included new tech, intelligent colleagues, high pay, and a budget for socials and personal development.
Cons: Low morale due to high workload and exodus of best talent, layoffs at start of year claiming streamlining then frustration from upper management that productivity dropped, work is mostly systems migrations instead of actual new feature building. Decisions from the owner get no pushback despite negative impact, random reversals of policy from senior management and middle management questionable value, upward feedback discouraged. Surveillance throughout the building and all computer systems, paranoia is part of the culture

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