I applied for this job through the New Relic portal. Five days later, I received an answer saying they were more than interested in moving forward with the process.

We had two phone screenings: the first one with HR and the second with a Software Manager to set expectations. Then, I received a code challenge to be completed in 4-6 days, and after that, a round of four technical interviews, scheduled one per week.

First technical interview - code challenge & technical questions

Two engineers from NR analyzed my project and asked questions. During this interview, they admitted they were gratefully surprised about the code quality and performance.

After the code review, the same two engineers asked me tons of questions covering an insane spectrum: Java foundations, JavaScript, Node.js, TCP/IP, DNS, algorithms, file systems, AWS, concurrency, etc. (25-30 questions). They said they just wanted to get a high-level idea about all the things I knew or had used. I thoroughly answered all questions but two - one about a silly theorem I hadn't seen again since university, and the other about a library they use internally (and nobody else knows it unless they've worked for NR before). However, they included it as negative feedback, LMAO.

Second interview - solution design

I was asked to design a multi-layer solution. The interviewer was notably satisfied with the result and finished the interview saying he "really hoped to see me in".

Third interview - Something like a cultural fit

Final interview with the Engineering Manager to know more about my interests and the way they work. The most remarkable thing was the fact that they asked me to do two consecutive weeks of 24/7 on-call duty every two months, rotating with the rest of the team. I thought slavery had been abolished, so I decided to decline any possible offer.

However, they sent an email saying they didn't want to continue with the process, although there was no process to continue with because we finished all the interviews.

WATCH OUT before applying, unless you have no personal life

Covered topics: Java foundations, JavaScript, Node.js, TCP/IP, DNS, algorithms, file systems, AWS, concurrency.