I applied online. The process took 3 weeks. I interviewed at Lark
Interview
The process was straightforward and fast. The team knew what they needed and skillsets required; therefore the questions during the interviews were tailored and enjoyable. There were five rounds, HR screening, Hiring Manager call, two technical interviews, Leadership call. Every interviewer was kind and energetic and felt respected each round of the interview.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
The technical interviews was a Coding Challenge and System Design. The coding challenge consisted of SQL and leetcode type of question (interviewers mentioned their focus was to understand how the interviewee thinks through problems and not so much on the most optimized approach).
The Design System question revolved around designing an ETL system where there are several different types of data sources (Streaming, API, SFTP) where the end goal is to have Insights access the data.
I applied online. The process took 7 weeks. I interviewed at Lark in Aug 2022
Interview
There were probably 5-6 total interview steps, each becoming more difficult. Initial conversations were around salary and skill expectations, to see if it was a fit, then general technical experience, diving into my resume and discussing specific points. At this point, it became much more technical. First were a couple Leet-code style tests, then a take-home assignment more relevant to my specialty, followed by a code review going over my work. Finally, there was a culture-fit meeting, with an open-ended discussion, and from there back to a recruiter to negotiate the final offer, and compensation.
It was an initial call with the recruiter and it pretty much revolved around low-balling me.
They pay a lot of heed to the number of years of experience with a title consisting of "software engineering" specifically rather than skills and technology matches with the company.
Moreover, I was told that my graduate degree in EE was not a match for this role.
The recruiter then decided to end the interview by concluding that the low salaries at Lark might not meet my expectations.
It seemed like the recruiter lacked experience and knowledge of hiring technical candidates. Very poor experience.
