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Interview Process Guide

Understanding the interview process helps you prepare effectively. This guide covers what to expect at different companies and stages.

Interview Process Overview​

Most Platform Engineering/SRE/DevOps interviews follow this structure:

  1. Initial Screening (30-45 minutes)
  2. Technical Phone/Video Interview (45-60 minutes)
  3. Online Coding Assessment (60-90 minutes)
  4. Onsite/Virtual Onsite (4-6 hours)
  5. Team Fit/Final Round (30-45 minutes)

FAANG Interview Process​

Google SRE​

Process:

  1. Recruiter Screen - Role fit, background
  2. Technical Phone Screen - Coding + Linux/Systems questions
  3. Onsite Rounds (4-5 interviews):
    • 1-2 Coding rounds (data structures/algorithms)
    • 1-2 Systems/SRE rounds (Linux, networking, troubleshooting)
    • 1 Large-scale system design
    • 1 Behavioral (Googleyness)

Key Resources:

Focus Areas:

  • Strong coding skills (Leetcode medium level)
  • Deep Linux knowledge (The Linux Programming Interface book)
  • System design with focus on reliability
  • Troubleshooting scenarios

Amazon (AWS)​

Process:

  1. Online Assessment - Coding + Work style assessment
  2. Phone Screen - Technical + Leadership Principles
  3. Virtual Onsite (5-6 rounds):
    • 2 Coding rounds
    • 1-2 System design
    • 2-3 Behavioral (Leadership Principles)

Focus Areas:

  • AWS services knowledge
  • Infrastructure as Code
  • Strong emphasis on Leadership Principles
  • Operational excellence scenarios

Meta (Facebook) Production Engineer​

Process:

  1. Recruiter Screen
  2. Technical Screen - Coding + Systems
  3. Virtual Onsite (4-5 rounds):
    • 2 Coding rounds
    • 1 Systems design
    • 1 Linux/Systems debugging
    • 1 Behavioral

Focus Areas:

  • Strong coding (same bar as SWE)
  • Linux internals
  • Distributed systems
  • Real-world debugging scenarios

Microsoft​

Process:

  1. Recruiter Screen
  2. Technical Phone Screen
  3. Virtual Onsite (4-5 rounds):
    • 2 Coding rounds
    • 1 System design
    • 1-2 Behavioral
    • 1 "As Appropriate" with senior member

Focus Areas:

  • Azure knowledge preferred
  • .NET/Windows environments
  • DevOps practices
  • Customer obsession

Netflix​

Process:

  • Culture fit is paramount
  • Take-home assignment common
  • Full-day onsite with various team members
  • Strong focus on ownership and impact

Focus Areas:

  • Chaos engineering
  • Microservices at scale
  • AWS expertise
  • Culture fit with Netflix values

Interview Types Deep Dive​

1. Coding Interviews​

What to Expect:

  • Data structures and algorithms
  • Scripting problems (Python/Bash)
  • Code review scenarios
  • Debugging exercises

Preparation:

  • Practice on Leetcode (Easy/Medium)
  • Focus on: Arrays, Strings, Hash Tables, Trees
  • Time complexity analysis
  • Clean, readable code

Resources:

2. System Design Interviews​

What to Expect:

  • Design scalable systems
  • Focus on reliability and availability
  • Trade-offs and decision making
  • Failure scenarios

Common Topics:

  • Design a monitoring system
  • Design a CI/CD pipeline
  • Design a container orchestration platform
  • Design a logging infrastructure
  • Design a CDN

Approach:

  1. Clarify requirements
  2. Estimate scale
  3. Design high-level architecture
  4. Deep dive into components
  5. Address bottlenecks and failures
  6. Discuss monitoring and operations

Resources:

3. Linux/Systems Interviews​

What to Expect:

  • Troubleshooting scenarios
  • Performance debugging
  • System calls and kernel behavior
  • Shell scripting

Common Scenarios:

  • "Server is running slow, debug it"
  • "Application can't connect to database"
  • "Disk space issues"
  • "High CPU usage"

Key Commands to Master:

  • strace, ltrace
  • top, htop, iotop
  • netstat, ss, tcpdump
  • ps, lsof
  • df, du, iostat

4. Behavioral Interviews​

Common Questions:

  • Tell me about a time you dealt with an outage
  • Describe a conflict with a developer/team member
  • How do you prioritize competing demands?
  • Share a time you improved a process
  • Describe your biggest technical challenge

STAR Method:

  • Situation - Context
  • Task - What needed to be done
  • Action - What you did
  • Result - Outcome and learnings

Company-Specific Tips​

Startups​

  • Expect broader scope questions
  • Hands-on practical scenarios
  • Culture fit crucial
  • May include take-home projects

Traditional Enterprises​

  • ITIL/Change management knowledge
  • Legacy system experience valued
  • Compliance and security focus
  • More structured processes

Cloud Providers​

  • Deep knowledge of their platform
  • Certification helpful
  • Customer-facing scenarios
  • Best practices and architecture

Timeline and Preparation​

6-8 Weeks Before​

  • Start with fundamentals
  • Review job description
  • Begin coding practice
  • Read system design resources

4-6 Weeks Before​

  • Mock interviews
  • Focus on weak areas
  • Company-specific preparation
  • Practice explaining your projects

2-4 Weeks Before​

  • Review all topics
  • Do timed practice
  • Prepare questions to ask
  • Research the team/product

1 Week Before​

  • Light review only
  • Logistics preparation
  • Rest and relaxation
  • Mental preparation

Red Flags to Avoid​

  1. Not knowing basics - File systems, networking, Linux
  2. Over-engineering - Keep solutions simple initially
  3. Poor communication - Think out loud
  4. No questions - Always ask clarifying questions
  5. Giving up - Show problem-solving process

Questions to Ask Interviewers​

About the Role​

  • What does a typical day look like?
  • What are the biggest challenges?
  • How do you measure success?

About the Team​

  • Team structure and size?
  • On-call rotation?
  • Technologies used?
  • Current projects?

About Growth​

  • Career progression opportunities?
  • Learning and development?
  • Mentorship programs?

Post-Interview​

Follow-up​

  • Send thank you email within 24 hours
  • Reiterate interest
  • Address any concerns raised

Handling Rejection​

  • Ask for feedback
  • Identify improvement areas
  • Keep networking
  • Try again in 6-12 months

Negotiation Preparation​

  • Research market rates
  • Consider total compensation
  • Understand the offer fully
  • Be prepared to negotiate

Additional Resources​

Remember: Interview skills improve with practice. Each interview is a learning opportunity, regardless of outcome.