I had a brief call with hr and afterward it was only one technical interview. While the questions were really easy (easy leetcode task), questions like "what is the difference between ML and DL", afterward I got the rejection. I requested the feedback, but the interviewer ignored me :(
I applied through a recruiter. I interviewed at Kalepa (Paris) in May 2025
Interview
I applied for the Machine Learning Engineer role at Kalepa. The process began with a pre-screening interview with a recruiter.
The second stage was a coding interview, conducted via IDE. I successfully solved the task within the allotted time, explained my approach clearly and wrote tests.
Despite completing the challenge, I was not invited to the next stage of the process and I was not provided with specific feedback.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Leetcode medium question about matrix transformation
I applied online. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at Kalepa in Oct 2024
Interview
Received a 75 minute code screen through HackerRank as the first step, which I completed on time and mostly correctly (did not fully complete the last problem). I was sent a boiler plate rejection the next day. Waste of time.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Write code to calculate maximum profit over a few days of single stock prices, extract information from JSON output from an API, find index of first occurrence of a character in a string.
I applied online. The process took 1 week. I interviewed at Kalepa (New York, NY) in Mar 2025
Interview
I completed three stages of the interview process. It started with a simple HackerRank test—nothing unusual—followed by an HR screening and a technical interview. Both interviews were smooth and very friendly.
I had a longer interview with a staff software engineer, which I found very enjoyable. It felt more like a discussion with a friend or colleague rather than a formal interview. I was hoping they would give me an offline task rather than an online one since I don't perform well in exam-like settings.
Overall, it was a great experience. They emphasize not being a typical 9-to-5 workplace, which I think is the best approach for startups! I also appreciate that they set clear expectations from the start regarding the level of effort required, rather than surprising candidates after hiring.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
The interview focused on system design, problem-solving, database issues, and past experiences. There was also a LeetCode-style question, likely at a medium difficulty level. (I’m not a fan of LeetCode.)