I applied online. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at Samsara in Sep 2024
Interview
Interview was in 4 phases. All virtual. Initial checkpoint with recruiter, then three back-to-back sessions, a coding session, a system design session, and an interview with the hiring manager. Coding session was with two tech employees watching, create a library that processes args for a command line. First check what args are defined and to what value, then other conditions were added. Main interviewer was very soft-spoken so felt like I spent lots of time trying to get clarification on each step. System Design was create a system to process Credit Card charges to ultimately be validated against GPS info. Manager interview was pretty standard my impression I just didn't have deep enough experience in the areas he was asking about.
I did get feedback afterwards which was rare but welcomed.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Tell me about a large project where you led a group of people and what challenges did you face?
One of the worst interview experience that I had, the interviewer came more than 5 mins late. Then he gave me a question to solve and then straight away got busy on his phone. Some of the decisions that we
Only had an initial call with a frankly clueless recruiter. Could tell me very little about the role, what I would be working on, or even the tech stack. Interrupted me constantly and kept asking me if I had any more questions when she couldn't even answer the few I did have. Probably the worst HR phone screen I've ever had, and I've had a few.
Recruiter round was smooth and professional. However, the technical interview didn’t match what was described. The prep materials clearly said no Leetcode, and focused on Samsara's system related.
I prepared accordingly, but the interview ended up being a standard Leetcode medium. Disappointed by the mismatch — if algorithm questions are preferred, let candidates know.
Advice to others:
Prepare for Leetcode