I applied online. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at Upvest (London, England) in Apr 2026
Interview
The interview process began with an initial conversation with a talent partner covering my background, experience, and what the company was looking for in the role. The next stage was a live coding challenge focused on implementing a pub/sub system in the programming language of my choice.
The task itself was interesting and relevant, but the experience during the coding session could have been stronger. There was very limited interaction from the interviewer, so it felt less like a collaborative pairing exercise and more like being observed while coding. I made an effort to explain my reasoning throughout, discuss trade-offs based on the requirements, and included tests using a TDD approach.
Unfortunately, I did not progress further and did not receive detailed feedback, which made it difficult to understand the evaluation criteria or areas for improvement. Overall, the process was professional, but more communication and transparency during the technical stage would improve the candidate experience.
Positive experience
Average interview
Application
I applied through a recruiter. I interviewed at Upvest (Berlin)
Interview
I was told there were 5 steps in total.
1. screening with a recruiter about 30 minutes.
2. live coding with an engineer about 45 minutes
3. system design with 2 engineers about 90 minutes
4. product call with a product manager
5. values call like a culture fit with a head/director of engineering
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
I was asked why Upvest, motivation etc. in the screening. and the question in the live coding was more about concurrency.
I applied through an employee referral. I interviewed at Upvest
Interview
The process was fairly standard: screening, coding, system design, values. The technical tasks we're reasonably difficult and related to the company's product. Everyone I spoke with left a good impression.