Senior Software Engineer Interview Experience - Santa Barbara, California
Process
An awful experience. It seems that it's a mess over there. Things get lost, and employees are not acting professionally.
I applied via LinkedIn. A few days later, I got an email with instructions on how to submit the given challenge. It was weird since I hadn't been talking to them at all, but I took the challenge. I was getting ready for other interviews anyway.
It was a very straightforward string sorting question. After a week, I contacted the recruiter by sending an email, on the formal side. It was the first time we were talking.
I asked for an update and more info on the process. The recruiter got back to me shortly with a one-sentence email, no "Hi", no signature, not even mentioning my name. This is exactly what I got:
"Your test results didn’t come through at all. I can send you the test directly through HackerRank, so you can try it again. thanks"
So I said okay, it happens. I'll take another one.
Then they sent me the same challenge, wired again! I submitted it and immediately contacted the recruiter to make sure they have the result this time. They confirmed shortly that they did.
5 days after that, I contacted the recruiter again to get an update and, for the second time, to ask about the process. Here is what I got, word by word:
"I didn’t get any test results from you. I just sent the test again, directly through HackerRank. Please complete the test and the results will be sent to me. thanks"
So, obviously a mistake, right? Wrong!
I asked them. It turned out they did not check the result when I had asked them 5 days ago. They just replied to my email without confirming that they had received the result.
Also, still no info about the process. They suggested that I take the test again "if you'd like."
At which point, I decided that I don't want to work for a company that treats their potential future employees like this. The recruiter does not know how to compose an email in a professional setting. I can only imagine other people do not know their work either.
Questions
Write a sorting algorithm for a string.
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Interview Statistics
The following metrics were computed from 1 interview experience for the The Trade Desk Senior Software Engineer role in Santa Barbara, California.
Success Rate
The Trade Desk's interview process for their Senior Software Engineer roles in Santa Barbara, California is extremely selective, failing the vast majority of engineers.
Experience Rating
Candidates reported having very negative feelings for The Trade Desk's Senior Software Engineer interview process in Santa Barbara, California.
The Trade Desk Work Experiences
- 5.0A decent company to work for, not without its small issuesSenior Software Engineer • Current EmployeeLondon, England, United KingdomApril 1, 2021Pros: Competitive salary and stocks plan. Amazing CEO. Engineering management is trying to change and improve. Interesting projects (if you land in one).Cons: Not all the stuff you do is exciting; a lot of legacy to support. +1 for calling out EMEA HR. Unprofessional and arrogant. A lot of talk and fuzz, but no real work, and a lot of controversial decisions.
- 5.0A really outstanding culture sustained for many yearsSenior Software Engineer • Current EmployeeLondon, England, United KingdomSeptember 8, 2021Pros: Colleagues are invariably friendly, generous, and great to learn from and collaborate with. People (especially in the London office) are from all over the world with diverse backgrounds and life experiences. Work is challenging and stimulating, and generally quite varied. There's a need to be agile about strategy (always more to do than time to do it!), which is a good learning opportunity. The social side of things is pleasant, with some 'top down' events (well, before COVID anyway) and more 'organic' hanging out with colleagues. Pub, restaurants, board games, sports after work or at lunchtime, etc. Nothing is forced if some or all of those things aren't for you. Great office breakfast and lunch. Managers typically genuinely care about their direct reports' wellbeing and make an effort to provide challenging, interesting work and growth opportunities. While engineering is encouraged to proactively attend to real business and customer needs, most of the time the trust and autonomy are there to do things with quality and in a direction dictated by engineering experts. Engineers at all levels are expected to become experts and owners of the areas they work on. Stock incentives and bonuses have been very generous historically.Cons: Work can be difficult, and the nature of the business gives a seasonality to things. Challenges and pressure can heat up in the approach to a Q4 of the year or a particularly big release. The frequent need to respond in an agile way to new opportunities and risks can be daunting and occasionally makes it harder to spend focus time really digging deep on a particular problem. Some of the higher-ups in sales can come over a bit self-congratulatory, but most of the time they're also actually good at what they do and good collaborators.
- 4.0Good environment, needs more tech focusSenior Software Engineer • Current EmployeeLondon, England, United KingdomOctober 21, 2025Pros: Snacks, food, environment. Work can be very interesting.Cons: No CTO. Not an engineering powerhouse, though it does have talent that is underutilized. Stock isn't very strong, with a high P/E.
The Trade Desk Interview Questions
