Software Engineer Interview Experience - San Francisco, California
February 1, 2015
Neutral ExperienceNo Offer
Process
I spoke to the recruiter once on the phone, who set up a technical phone screen.
The recruiter took forever to set up the phone screen—about 15 days.
The phone screen involved writing code on a shared code editor (Collabedit.com).
The interviewer called me and immediately jumped into the coding problem without much of a discussion.
Questions
Two players play a game. In this game, there are two piles of identical stones. The number of stones in the first pile is A and the number of stones in the second pile is B. There is also a positive integer constant K, which is a parameter to the game. It stays fixed throughout the game.
The players alternate taking turns. When a player's turn comes, that player first selects a pile and then picks any number of stones from that pile. They have to pick at least 1 stone and cannot pick more than K stones. The person who picks the last stone loses.
Write a method to determine if Player 1 has a winning strategy given A, B, and K, assuming both players play optimally.
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Interview Statistics
The following metrics were computed from 33 interview experiences for the Pinterest Software Engineer role in San Francisco, California.
Success Rate
27%
Pass Rate
Pinterest's interview process for their Software Engineer roles in San Francisco, California is very selective, failing most engineers who go through it.
Experience Rating
Positive61%
Neutral24%
Negative15%
Candidates reported having very good feelings for Pinterest's Software Engineer interview process in San Francisco, California.
Pinterest Work Experiences
5.0
Great People, Busy Pace
Software Engineer • Former Employee
San Francisco, California, United States
November 3, 2020
Pros: It has great people and benefits.
Cons: It's very busy, not good if a more relaxing situation is wanted.
2.0
An Amazing Product, but Toxicity Levels are High
Software Engineer • Current Employee
San Francisco, California, United States
June 29, 2014
Pros: - Pinterest is an amazing product that can deliver a lot of value to people, and a lot of people have figured this out.
- The plan for monetization looks solid.
- "Rands" seems like a solid hire to help solve the cultural problems.
Cons: - So many conflicting directions: Quarterly Goals, Various Company-Wide Initiatives.
- Certain teams are balancing both waterfall and agile methodologies.
- Golden handcuffs keep a lot of unhappy people working there.
- Lack of diversity on a lot of teams. More female engineers than at a lot of other places, but not enough, especially for our demographic.
- A lot of people in upper management positions have done things not in the interest of Pinners or Pinterest to be where they are.
- Authenticity is a core company value, but speaking your mind gets you on the ____ lists.
- Not enough investment in engineers.
5.0
A wonderful place to work
Software Engineer • Current Employee
San Francisco, California, United States
March 30, 2016
Pros: The head of engineering has a mantra he repeats often: "be unfailingly kind."
It's felt throughout the engineering organization. People go out of their way to be courteous and helpful, sometimes at the expense of productivity. This makes working at Pinterest a joy.
It makes it easy for new employees to quickly ramp up and for long-time employees to continue to grow. It makes me excited to come into work every day.
The company's values are in the right place. I truly believe that more diverse teams build better products, and Pinterest is making investments in recruiting and inclusion that will pay off for years to come.
The best part is that none of this comes at the expense of the awesome technology that we continue to pioneer at a breathtaking pace. Our visual search team is way ahead of everyone else, and even Apple itself is envious of our work on AsyncDisplayKit.
As Pinterest grows and matures, working here will become more routine, and the people who made this company great will gradually depart to take on new adventures. But that hasn't happened yet. And I'm loving every minute of the present.
Cons: The speed of our growth and the realities of the San Francisco real estate market have forced us to split our workforce over two buildings, a few blocks away from one another.
This has meant we're not as close-knit as we once were, and it's harder to maintain working relationships that span both buildings.
- 5.0Great People, Busy PaceSoftware Engineer • Former EmployeeSan Francisco, California, United StatesNovember 3, 2020Pros: It has great people and benefits.Cons: It's very busy, not good if a more relaxing situation is wanted.
- 2.0An Amazing Product, but Toxicity Levels are HighSoftware Engineer • Current EmployeeSan Francisco, California, United StatesJune 29, 2014Pros: - Pinterest is an amazing product that can deliver a lot of value to people, and a lot of people have figured this out. - The plan for monetization looks solid. - "Rands" seems like a solid hire to help solve the cultural problems.Cons: - So many conflicting directions: Quarterly Goals, Various Company-Wide Initiatives. - Certain teams are balancing both waterfall and agile methodologies. - Golden handcuffs keep a lot of unhappy people working there. - Lack of diversity on a lot of teams. More female engineers than at a lot of other places, but not enough, especially for our demographic. - A lot of people in upper management positions have done things not in the interest of Pinners or Pinterest to be where they are. - Authenticity is a core company value, but speaking your mind gets you on the ____ lists. - Not enough investment in engineers.
- 5.0A wonderful place to workSoftware Engineer • Current EmployeeSan Francisco, California, United StatesMarch 30, 2016Pros: The head of engineering has a mantra he repeats often: "be unfailingly kind." It's felt throughout the engineering organization. People go out of their way to be courteous and helpful, sometimes at the expense of productivity. This makes working at Pinterest a joy. It makes it easy for new employees to quickly ramp up and for long-time employees to continue to grow. It makes me excited to come into work every day. The company's values are in the right place. I truly believe that more diverse teams build better products, and Pinterest is making investments in recruiting and inclusion that will pay off for years to come. The best part is that none of this comes at the expense of the awesome technology that we continue to pioneer at a breathtaking pace. Our visual search team is way ahead of everyone else, and even Apple itself is envious of our work on AsyncDisplayKit. As Pinterest grows and matures, working here will become more routine, and the people who made this company great will gradually depart to take on new adventures. But that hasn't happened yet. And I'm loving every minute of the present.Cons: The speed of our growth and the realities of the San Francisco real estate market have forced us to split our workforce over two buildings, a few blocks away from one another. This has meant we're not as close-knit as we once were, and it's harder to maintain working relationships that span both buildings.
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