TikTok

Role: ML Engineer

College: Not Specified

Interview Date: September 14, 2023

Interview Type: Full-Time

Result: Anticipated Rejected

Difficulty: Hard (due to interviewer's unprofessional behavior and challenging technical focus)

Rounds: 3 rounds (third round described)

Topics Asked: Machine Learning Models (e.g., Moco), Behavioral (language preference, project discussions), Coding (in earlier rounds)

Experience:

This candidate described their experience as the "worst interview experience" of their life for an ML Engineer position at TikTok Singapore. They were based in North America.

The third round was particularly problematic. The interviewer was late, unprepared, and had not read the candidate's resume. Despite the candidate stating a preference for English, the interviewer initially asked if they spoke Chinese and later switched to Chinese for a technical question. The interviewer fixated on a narrow aspect of a summer internship experience from three years prior and focused on a specific ML model (Moco) that they had to Google during the interview, showing condescension when the candidate was unfamiliar with it. No coding questions were asked in this round. The interview ended abruptly without a proper goodbye or allowing the candidate to finish their questions.

The first two rounds had included coding questions. The candidate expressed certainty of not passing the third round due to the interviewer's "discriminative behavior".