I applied through a recruiter. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at ByteDance (San Jose, CA) in Jan 2025
Interview
The first two rounds of the interview focused primarily on my previous projects and included one LeetCode-style question. The interviewers in the technical rounds were professional and respectful. The coding question involved dynamic programming. Although I am not very strong in DP, the interviewer patiently guided me toward the solution.
3 interviews, one with a hiring manager and two with researchers/engineers. Coding questions and research background. Leetcode medium question. System design question. And background questions. Team members also shares what they do to find a fit.
The actual work seems quite different from the job advertisement. The interviewer demanded speaking Chinese and barely understood English, although the job advertisement does not have language requirements. The interviewer sticked to the Chinese culture that emphasizes obedience and worship of employers. The interviewer apparently had minimal understanding of the talent pool, culture, and society in the US. It was alarming that the interviewer did not seem to have adequate expertise in my area of research. I am a professional researcher in the US. I did not think that the interviewer asked the right questions about the research process (perhaps Chinese researchers do things differently!). I would recommend the company only to people who just migrated from China to the US.