Role: SWE (Investment Banking Pricing team, ATHENA, primarily Python), Sydney AU

• Recruiter contacted me by email.
• Initially interviewed for SWE 3, but was downleveled to SWE 2 after the first interview.
• HR process was inconsistent. Some scheduling issues (e.g. missing meeting invites/Zoom links), though communication varied depending on the recruiter.

Interview 1 (60 min) – Behavioural

• Standard behavioural interview.
• STAR-style questions based on past experience.
• Downleveled to SWE 2 after this round (likely due to limited investment banking/domain knowledge).

Interview 2 (60 min) – Technical

• Brief resume discussion and behavioural questions.
• Python and general SWE trivia (e.g. multithreading).
• Coding questions:
  1. Flatten a Dictionary https://www.tryexponent.com/courses/swe-practice/flatten-a-dictionary
  2. Valid Parentheses

Interview 3 (45 min) – Hiring Manager

• Behavioural/conversational interview with the hiring manager.
• Mostly a discussion about experience and team fit.
• Was quite casual and no hard questions were asked. Hiring manager was very likeable and knowledgeable.

Outcome: Positive feedback after the interviews. HR requested proof of current salary + any competing offers before preparing an offer. I had a competing big tech offer, so I did not proceed further.