AppNexus Interview Questions

Application

I applied online. I interviewed at AppNexus.

Interview

This was a few years ago. I applied online and they got back to me. I was asked to complete a design test, that included creating a sketch of a problem they sent and sending a photo back of what I'd completed.

It took them so long to respond to my drawing, I ended up getting hired by another company. A friend of mine had the same issue.

Interview

I applied online. The process took about 3 weeks. I interviewed at AppNexus (New York, NY) in January 2019. Applied through company web, then I had a video interview one hour.

Application

I applied online. The process took 4 weeks. I interviewed at AppNexus.

Interview

The process was really long and not very well managed, as 4 hours each hour with different team members and questions were frequently repeated throughout the hours so what was the point of that, they need to prepare together ahead to not make the exact question repeated which will result of the person being interviewed keeps repeating the answers.

Interview

Extremely long interview with multiple team members. Each had some sort of activity or set of questions prepared in advance. Challenging and exhausting, but I suppose they were doing their due diligence. The team members seemed very smart.

Application

I applied online. The process took 4+ months. I interviewed at AppNexus (Portland, OR) in July 2019.

Interview

Pros: fine engineers. Cons: seems like somebody from AppNexus/Xandr/AT&T stole my $200+ hotel reimbursement; also non-compete agreement nonsense in the job offer.

I initially applied to a position of a Senior Frontend SWE in Encino, CA, we had a phone call with the hiring manager, she was going to proceed, but then something happened on their side and they temporary stopped hiring in that city.

As long as I’m a fullstack lead engineer, then I asked the recruiter to check positions in Portland and we came up with a Senior SWE role on Webservices team in Portland, OR. This is not a super-exciting team for many folks, as the team’s task is quite tedious – they convert old legacy monolith to a set of independent (micro) services. But I’m fine with this job – it has its own challenges, requires lot of collaboration, etc. – so it seemed interesting for me.

We had a phone call with the hiring manager. He gave me a homework task to complete at home – just google Gilded Rose kata and you will find it.

Then we had a tech screen call with one of their engineers – to discuss the task + answer some technical questions - nothing tricky, mostly quick exam-style, like “what’s HTTP” or “tell me about XSS”. Then they invited me to Portland for an on-site interview.

The interview day had a couple of tech sessions and a lunch with the hiring manager. The tech sessions were not focused on algorithms or structures.

One session was to check the experience – answering general industry questions like “what’s REST”, “what happens when you type a URL in the browser bar and press Enter”. Also there were soft skill experience-related questions like “did you have experience working under pressure, tell us about that”.

Another session was more focused on details - code a simple algorithm on a whiteboard, tell how unit tests should be implemented, how CSRF attacks work, etc.

Lunch with the hiring manager was a normal lunch, not an interview round. So it was just a nice talk. The manager also checked whether I’d be interested in a more advanced role of a tech lead for the team - and I was fine with that, as I had already been doing similar stuff at my current company.

In a couple of days after the on-site interviews they sent me a job offer for the aforementioned tech lead role. I was interested in it, but unfortunately we didn’t agree on compensation - it was not competitive.

The compensation included base pay, annual bonus and one-time relocation/sign-up bonus (which you should decrease by 35% due to taxes, before actually trying to cover your relocation costs). Overall the whole package looked to me much lower than at my current company, considering the benefits that were worse at AppNexus (including more expensive medical insurance), working conditions, and life in Portland. And the total compensation was also lower than the total compensation suggested to me by a different company later. Thus for me it was not financially viable to join AppNexus – would be like a step backward. I guess the major problem is that they don’t provide RSUs and ESPP after acquisition by AT&T, which I think made them fell out of proper compensation level.

Another thing I discovered later - when carefully reading the legal language of the job offer - is that it contained a non-compete agreement. Which is just nonsense – literally makes you a slave of the company. Such an agreement is not legal in California, but is still legal in Oregon. It means, that after leaving AppNexus you cannot be hired by any other good software company – because no way it wouldn’t compete with AT&T in one of their numerous markets. So be very aware of that, never sign such stuff.

Overall the people were nice, engineers had passion and skills, I liked them.

One issue - with people - came much later, when even after numerous reminders I didn’t receive the $200 reimbursement for the hotel (they promised to pay for it before the interviews, and multiple times after). I think somebody in AppNexus/Xandr/AT&T just stole it. I could go to a small-claims court to resolve the issue, but for now decided to not spend time on this matter.

Application

I applied online. I interviewed at AppNexus (New York, NY) in March 2019.

Interview

Definitely one of the best interview experiences (if not the best) that I have had in a long time. From the recruiters all the way to my actual interviewers each person seemed genuinely interested in myself as a candidate and wanted me to do my best throughout the entire interview process. Started with a call with and then received an invite for a final round interview (3 back to back interviews each intended to assess a different aspect of myself/my background) . While the outcome was not what I had wanted, there is no denying that AppNexus has a solid product/team of people.

Application

I applied online. The process took 3 weeks. I interviewed at AppNexus (New York, NY) in March 2019.

Interview

Applied through Handshake, had 30 minutes phone screen and 3 hour skype interview. Everyone I spoke to was warm, welcoming, and no one grilled me with tough questions. The final round contains 2 behaviorals and one analytical. They'll probably ask a market sizing question, a process improvement question, and a "teach me"

Application

I applied online. I interviewed at AppNexus.

Interview

Received an email inviting me for an interview with the hiring manager, and was to be followed up by someone from recruiting to setup the interview. After I responded with available times, there was a no-show. Received a response after ~45 days, saying the position will be closing shortly.

Recruitment team needs training on how to treat candidates as people.

Application

I applied online. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at AppNexus (New York, NY) in February 2019.

Interview

Initial email asking about my experience, my projects, if I am willing to relocate and my visa status.
After that, a phone interview call with the lead. He gave me a javascript array of objects and asked me to manipulate it using es6 features. I was able to finish the task in the given time and he asked me if I had any questions.

I never got a feedback if I am selected to the next round or not. I emailed them couple of times to see if I am selected. I feel like if a candidate is spending couple of hours interviewing he should atleast know whether he is selected. The process isn't great and lacks accountability.

Interview for this company at your own risk.

Application

I applied online. The process took 6 weeks. I interviewed at AppNexus (New York, NY) in February 2019.

Interview

It is very long. They wait 1 week in between each round, if you follow up earlier, it doesn't matter, they will make you wait forever. 4-hour interview on site is a must. HR is slow to respond and seems totally disorganized or overwhelmed. The hiring process is the worst I have ever had to deal with. If you need a job, this place is the slowest.