Process
The process began with a phone call with the recruiter, followed by a video call for a technical interview. I have to say I wasn't very prepared, and the interview was rather difficult.
The coding problem was not straightforward. It would have been impossible to solve in the allotted time without prior practice on similar problems.
Questions
Describe a past project.
What is regularization? What are different types of it?
If you have a million data points, would you use DNN or KNN? What's the difference in inference time?
Coding problem was writing the Splitwise algorithm. Given a list of payers and payees, find the best way to settle expenses.
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Interview Statistics
The following metrics were computed from 23 interview experiences for the Pinterest Machine Learning Engineer role in United States.
Success Rate
Pinterest's interview process for their Machine Learning Engineer roles in the United States is extremely selective, failing the vast majority of engineers.
Experience Rating
Candidates reported having good feelings for Pinterest's Machine Learning Engineer interview process in United States.
Pinterest Work Experiences
- 5.0Excellent Growth And LearningMachine Learning Engineer • Current EmployeeNew York, New York, United StatesJune 3, 2025Pros: Great place to grow and learnCons: Nothing as such. A great place to grow and learn.
- 4.0Great place to workMachine Learning Engineer • Current EmployeeSan Francisco, California, United StatesJanuary 4, 2025Pros: Remote work options available. Unlimited PTO.Cons: Leadership keeps changing direction many a time.
- 4.0Strong on work culture, inclusion, and work-life balanceMachine Learning Engineer • Current EmployeeDecember 30, 2024Pros: 1. Very collaborative, inclusive, and creativity-driven. 2. As machine learning engineers, you are encouraged to take ownership of projects and propose innovative solutions that have high impact towards product goals. 3. Flexibility of working remotely and flexible working hours. 4. Opportunities to work on large-scale, high-quality datasets and complex models and signals that impact the performance of models powering the recommender system.Cons: Career growth might feel slower for senior engineers, as competition is pretty high.
Pinterest Interview Questions
