OpenAI Software Engineer Interview Experience
OpenAI · Senior
Interview process
The process was short-lived for me, unfortunately. The coding interview was an hour long, and the question was similar to the game of life, but for an infection spreading across a 2D array. I approached it much too methodically - explaining my approach before implementing, like I've learned to do from past technical interviews. The thing about this one is that theres FIVE long parts, and you have to pass the test cases for each part before you move on to the next. If I could do it again I would be frantically coding from the very beginning - waste no time. Add print statements to debug. The interviewer doesn't help or guide much, its mostly on you.
Interview rounds · 1
- 1
Technical round
CodingSystem Design- Q1. Infection spread simulation.
- Q2. Design a Stripe-like payment processing system.
Tips from the candidate
I would prep similar game of life style questions, and try to do it fast. It's all about speed. Definitely know your language of choice really well - you can't google anything. I got tripped up a couple times because I couldn't remember how to copy an array, etc.
Company culture
The vibe was generally good. No red flags that I saw. The people were nice.