Data Engineer Interview Experience - Santa Monica, California
Process
The entire process took about a year and a half (yikes!) with many phone screens, some online tests, and culminated with a day-long onsite interview.
Overall, they said they really liked me, the team liked me, they thought my skills were strong, and wanted to hire me. But... they thought I was lacking Java programming ability. I'm not a Java programmer, and the only time Java was mentioned was by one person during the onsite interview. He had me do some whiteboard coding problems, and I responded, "I don't know Java; can I do this in C++ or something?"
The hiring manager apologized for the mix-up, but it was odd to go through literally a year of interviewing only to be cut out at the last minute because of a previously unmentioned skill requirement.
I really, really liked the company and the people, though, and still use things I learned during the interview process. I think they are suffering through some growing pains.
Questions
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Interview Statistics
The following metrics were computed from 1 interview experience for the Riot Games Data Engineer role in Santa Monica, California.
Success Rate
Riot Games's interview process for their Data Engineer roles in Santa Monica, California is extremely selective, failing the vast majority of engineers.
Experience Rating
Candidates reported having very good feelings for Riot Games's Data Engineer interview process in Santa Monica, California.
Riot Games Work Experiences
- 5.0Great place to workData Engineer • Current EmployeeLos Angeles, California, United StatesMarch 22, 2024Pros: Work-life balance, good compensation, and a friendly culture.Cons: Unclear leadership direction, new and young managers hired from outside in the last few years, and not adhering to the company culture.
- 5.0Great place to workData Engineer • Current EmployeeLos Angeles, California, United StatesNovember 16, 2023Pros: Compensation, culture, work-life balance.Cons: Complicated corporate organization, unclear goals.
- 5.0A great company for the right fitSoftware Engineer • Current EmployeeSanta Monica, California, United StatesAugust 12, 2014Pros: The culture here is greatly suited to gamers. You are expected to enjoy games, and you can almost always have a good conversation about games with anyone that works here. It's not a company that babysits and holds your hand. You're given a lot of freedom to work on things, which is great for engineers. Of course, sometimes this means people end up making mistakes, but Riot is very open to mistakes and owns up to them. There's tons of room to work on different parts of the company, both in and out of your core competency. An engineer can choose to work on an engineering task that he wants to grow in. An accountant can shadow and attempt to work as an engineer, or vice versa. Heavy feedback culture. People tell you what they think of you, which leads to great improvements in both your professional and personal life. You're never counting down the hours until the end of the day. Most days I look at the clock and say, "Damn... I wish I had more time today!"Cons: - Sometimes things get lost in the shuffle. All the freedom people get tends to lead to inefficiencies in some areas. - Heavy meeting culture. This is not true for all teams within Riot, but it's generally agreed upon that this is the case. Sometimes entire days are booked with meetings, and it's hard to find time to work on the things you want to work on. - Work-life balance is something that is unique to each individual, so I can only judge based on my own experience. You spend and take on as much responsibility as you choose to. That being said, it's always expected for the person to raise the bar on their own accord, which leads to issues of spending too much time in the office working. Of course, this is something that is not always the case and can be managed.
Riot Games Interview Questions
