Process
I applied online. The process took 4 weeks.
I had a great feeling with all the people I met during this process. Pennylane is made up of kind people. You can sense a drive for efficiency during the interviews (fairly condensed, highly structured formats that focus on the essentials). The process starts with a screening interview. I then received a homework assignment to complete within a week, with AI tools allowed on the condition that I described the methodology used. I had a technical debrief with a software engineer, where I had to explain my code in detail with some probing questions on certain technical and architectural choices. I had a 15-minute feedback call with the recruiter a few days later. Next was an interview with a PM, followed by another debrief. In my case, the process stopped after that. My feedback is therefore very positive, but I would suggest two improvements: 1 - have multiple interviewers during the interview to limit bias. 2 - if possible, swap the homework and the Product interview: as a candidate, you spend many more hours on the homework. Given the time investment required for the homework, I would have preferred to fail early 😉. Otherwise, it was perfect!
Questions
What is the complexity of this algorithm? What is its impact on memory if the input grows? How could you have done things differently to limit the performance impact?
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Interview Statistics
The following metrics were computed from 15 interview experiences for the Pennylane Engineering Manager role.
Success Rate
Pennylane's interview process for their Engineering Manager roles is very selective, failing most engineers who go through it.
Experience Rating
Candidates reported having very good feelings for Pennylane's Engineering Manager interview process.
Pennylane Work Experiences
- 4.0Software engineerSoftware Engineer • Former EmployeeParisDecember 8, 2023Pros: Great culture tech International employees Great product cultureCons: minor product implication for softwar eengineers poor work/life balance
- 5.0GreatSoftware Developer • Former EmployeeParisOctober 12, 2023Pros: Great people, great culture, ambitious, development orientedCons: There are no cons about working at Pennylane.
- 1.0Good days off, but terrible management and stressSenior Software Engineer • Former EmployeeOctober 4, 2026Pros: Proper amount of days off Good people on the team trying to help with PM on the top.Cons: haven’t seen such a terrible way of managing people and teams in my entire career — from senior leadership down to the Engineering Manager level. During my time there: I saw people constantly getting sick due to stress. Employees were indirectly expected to work overtime and were compared to those who did. There was constant turnover and frequent changes of Product Managers and Engineering Managers, which created instability and a lack of clear direction. The management culture created a lot of unnecessary pressure and unhealthy competition. Ah, I almost forgot! Micromanagement — the cherry on top. It was funny to see that the EM kept chasing people and nitpicking instead of figuring out how to improve features and helping with technical decisions. If you are experienced and have a family, I would not recommend joining.
