I applied through a staffing agency. The process took 1+ week. I interviewed at Rakuten
Interview
Passed the online coding test with ease. However, found the guys doing interviews (an engineer) did not know how to code themselves. Got asked into details of projects I did in my previous companies. And contributed practical solutions for algorithms, modelling and classifier, machine learning and econometrics. However, found out the whole process was a brain-rape! The guy hinted the political tension within the team, like wanted who to be in the managerial roles. Laster, I got feedback from the agent, I was stunned. The chi*ese employers made up the interview results. Hope the senior management starts to realise the bad culture is prevailing.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Simple algorithms, not sure why the guy wouldn't be able to know the fundamentals after 6-8 years of CS education in China.
this interview process had 5 rounds
2 was a tech test
３ were conversational in nature
with various managers from direct and indirect to the department manager mostly in Japan but also outside Japan.
1st Interview was simple leetcode task and some questions about Kubernetes. 2nd interview - classical ML and DL questions, Final interview is mostly informal, but there may appear some questions about specific experience and problem solving
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
What is the difference between random forest and boosting?
Initial LeetCode coding test, hiring manager interview for profile and role fit, multiple technical rounds covering statistics, machine learning, SQL, Python, and case studies, concluding with behavioral interviews evaluating teamwork, communication, and cultural alignment.