I applied through a staffing agency. The process took 4 weeks. I interviewed at Two Sigma (New York, NY) in Mar 2015
Interview
Process took 4+ weeks. They are extremely slow in moving forward.
1. Phone Interview: Started with HR round for 20-30 mins to see if there is a fit.
2. Online Coding Test: Have to solve a couple of questions in 2 hrs. There is enough time to complete the 2 questions if you know what you are doing.
3. Phone Interview: Followed with a technical interview, easy as they are all about basic OS, data structures, sorting algos etc. Easy to get past this as well.
4. Onsite Technical Interview: 3 Rounds.
The process ended with HR showing you out after lunch. I am not sure if this is a positive or negative experience as the interview process have high standards, didn't expect any less but also too stringent and short sighted. My first 2 tech rounds onsite went very well but went a little over time meaning I was left with ~40 mins for the last interview. Every interviewer has a mind set that you have to solve 2-3 questions correctly and this became a problem when I was left with only 10-12 mins for the second question in my third interview. He was literally counting down and I felt like I as put on a clock to solve the problem within the time frame or would be kicked out. That is exactly what happened as I could only give him the algorithm with few hints but not code it. I also felt sick when the third interviewer looked down on me saying "Oh I know, zeros and ones it's very complex!" with a smirk on his face - Arrogant.
Expecting a candidate to give an algorithm and code it bug free in around 20 mins for each question is random as the difficulty of the questions vary(also if you are coding in C++). This might not get you good candidates even if they are unless the firm is against C++ as I know they only focus on JVM languages. This is evident by the fact that almost everyone I met is in a team which has more than 2 openings for over 6 months.
I know they are a great firm doing very well and was disappointed to not get the offer but felt like I could not have done anything much better except for may be managing my time better and I felt it should not get down to that. For other potential candidates, All the best and do manage your time well!
first interview was 60 minutes long with a leetcode hard question. second interview was 2 back to back 60 minute leetcode hard with emphasis on data structures. each interview had a 5 minute introduction and 10 minute at the end to ask questions
Standard medium difficulty hackerrank. The question involved decoded an encoded string. It was not something I had seen on LeetCode before and I think was unique to the company. The question was not that difficult but I ran out of time right before I could finish answering.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Decode a string encoded using a specific encoding algorithm.
It started of with one phone screen, then if you pass you have 2 back to back technicals, then 3 1 hour behaviorals, hiring committee, and management committee. Standard Leetcode and behavioral questions.