I applied through a recruiter. I interviewed at PlayStation (Madison, WI) in Apr 2025
Interview
Two Engineering Positions, Zero Follow-Up.
Went a couple rounds for a position as a software engineer. Then suddenly, no calls, emails, or follow up until weeks later when they say they'd like to talk to me about a different position. Once again, we have several calls, and then there's radio-silence. Some of the questions suggest their engineering culture is a panicked waterfall model. See questions below.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
1. Large Project with Loose Requirements & Missing Product Owner
You must build a new system to automate a complex, manual workflow.
The product owner is on leave for 8 of the 10 weeks you have to complete the project.
You have only 2 weeks to correct assumptions once they return.
Questions:
How would you approach designing the system when many requirements are unclear?
How do you stay productive and keep building, even though you know some priorities and assumptions may be wrong until the product owner is back?
2. Inherited Repository with Little Handover
You've been given a code repository from a former employee.
There's minimal documentation or shared knowledge.
The app is already running in production on Kubernetes.
Question:
How do you handle this situation and avoid breaking production when you have only the codebase and a running app?
Typically, an interviewer asks around 6–12 core technical questions, plus 3–5 behavioral questions for this role. In system-heavy roles like this, expect deep follow-ups, so total discussion often expands to 15–20 question threads rather than standalone questions.
Gauntlet of 6+ interviews. Multiple tech screenings and system designs. Poorly coordinated. Recruiter uninterested and unresponsive in general, didn't follow up on my questions and got ghosted at the end. One of the interviewers had poor communication skills and it was the most painful interview I had ever had in my career.
The interviewing process is straightforward. first resume screen, then phone screen, then one tech interview with manager, Then there's the final round panel interview with behavior questions. . . . . .
