Senior Software Engineer Interview Experience - Natick, Massachusetts
Process
I was referred internally by a MathWorks employee. The overall process took about 3 weeks.
I had a short phone call with a manager first and scheduled the on-site interview two weeks later.
The interview started with a morning presentation about my PhD research, followed by five rounds of technical interviews. The entire team consisted of PhD graduates, so the questions were more or less research-oriented. There were fewer coding challenges compared to Google or Facebook, where the focus is on coding ability.
In general, MathWorks interviewers are more concerned about your talents and potential for growth (unless you are a very experienced candidate with over 10 years of work history). Therefore, prepare less on technical details (e.g., how constructors work, how to traverse a tree, or even design pattern details), but focus on how you present yourself as a problem attacker who not only solves questions but also proposes new questions.
Questions
They didn't ask too many challenging questions, as I had interned there before. The questions were basic C++ and there was no whiteboard coding involved.
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Interview Statistics
The following metrics were computed from 11 interview experiences for the MathWorks Senior Software Engineer role in Natick, Massachusetts.
Success Rate
MathWorks's interview process for their Senior Software Engineer roles in Natick, Massachusetts is on the easier side as most engineers get an offer after going through it.
Experience Rating
Candidates reported having very good feelings for MathWorks's Senior Software Engineer interview process in Natick, Massachusetts.
MathWorks Work Experiences
- 4.0A good company to start your careerSenior Software Engineer • Former EmployeeNatick, Massachusetts, United StatesMarch 1, 2023Pros: Good training for new hires. Good work-life balance. Nice, talented teammates.Cons: Not much career growth for senior engineers. Too much office politics.
- 3.0Good Pay, Broken PromisesSenior Software Engineer • Current EmployeeNatick, Massachusetts, United StatesJune 20, 2015Pros: Competitive pay, which is automatically raised by 3-4% each year. Challenging product.Cons: All in all, a lot of broken promises, bureaucracy, dysfunctional management, and cynicism. Very bare-minimum time off. Paternity leave is 5 days (excuse me?). Absolutely no remote work allowed, period. You should be there, like a slave, even if you just sit at your office debugging. Ridiculous review cycle, which some managers do not follow. Cult of seniority. You are expected to do what you are told by higher-ups (de facto; on paper Mathworks is a democracy, but in fact it is a pure autocracy). Zero promotions. No feedback is heard. Everybody is pretty stuck up; nobody cracks jokes! Oh yes, the CEO's idol is Jim Collins - he idolizes Mr. Collins, which quite discredits him in my eyes.
- 4.0Well organized, very slow-paced movement, stable products, lots of technical debtSenior Software Engineer • Current EmployeeNatick, Massachusetts, United StatesJanuary 3, 2020Pros: 1. Work-life balance. 2. Less pressure on deliveries, with very well-structured development plans. 3. Good 401K/medical benefits. If you require a visa or GC, this is the ideal place to stay, as they will file one immediately. 4. Lots of volunteer organizations and activities. 5. Good work culture and nice people around. 6. Nice mix of demographics and employees from different parts of the world. 7. The company makes a profit every year, so the job is secure unless you do anything stupid.Cons: 1. Very low salary. They always stress the fact that the location is millions of miles away from Boston to make you believe a low salary is good enough, but Natick is very costly. Don't fall into the trap. 2. Huge technical debt and things move very slowly. 3. It's sometimes difficult to understand what's going on, as it's still under process to decide which methodologies to follow and which technology to stay with. 4. Don't expect a quarterly bonus in the first year. It's either a zero paycheck or very minimal. 5. Join only if you do not have any other job. Good for a first job to learn software engineering and maybe the last job before you retire.
MathWorks Interview Questions
