Meet Isidora, a Backend Engineer based in Chile who joined the Uber Eats checkout team this year working on cart and checkout pages. Outside of coding, she enjoys working out (she’s a certified Body Combat instructor!), watching animated movies and series, and spending time with her family, friends, and dog, Kira.
Why did you apply to Uber and why did you choose to join?
“Choosing to join Uber was driven by four main factors:
- Impact: I wanted to work for a company that makes a significant impact on a global scale and on a team where I could make a tangible impact on the end users.
- Scale: Uber’s global reach presented a unique challenge and an opportunity to work on large-scale problems.
- Professional development: I was looking for new growth and learning opportunities and a clear career path as an individual contributor. I hoped to be able to code a lot!
- Team: I was excited about the chance to work with a team of highly talented and senior engineers from all around the world.”
What sets Uber’s new Santiago Tech Site apart?
“Everyone is friendly and always willing to lend a helping hand, whether it’s with understanding Uber policies or tackling technical challenges. Even though my immediate team isn’t based in Chile, I enjoy coming to the office and getting to know other Chileans better, and I am excited to be even more engaged in the new office.
There is a very deep knowledge and expertise in grocery delivery, which has been fun to learn. Many team members come from similar backgrounds, providing me and our teams with invaluable knowledge in understanding what users love and hate about this kind of shopping experience.”
You’ve been at Uber for 3 months now! Has your experience at Uber so far matched your expectations?
“Yes, for impact, scale, and professional development. These aspects have been as I anticipated, with challenging and rewarding work, and a very talented and senior team. However, the pace is faster than I expected, and the technical challenges are more complex, which has been an exciting aspect of the job.”
Tell us about your hiring process. Was there anything that surprised you?
“The hiring process at Uber was thorough and well-organized. Here’s a breakdown of my experience:
- Application: I found a job that I was qualified for through Uber’s Careers page and was referred by a friend.
- Interviews: The process included a phone screen with a recruiter, followed by three coding interviews, two design and architecture interviews, and one focused on collaboration and leadership. You can learn more about the interview process in this post.
- Preparation: I received detailed prep material from Uber, including resources and tips for success. The recruiter was very nice, supportive and always available to answer questions before each step.
I was pleasantly surprised by how structured and supportive the process was. Conversations with my future manager and onboarding buddy helped me understand the team dynamics and the challenges I would have on my new team.”
Did you prepare or study for any step of the hiring process? how?
“Yes! I prepared extensively for each step. The Uber Interview Prep material details all the interview steps, resources to prepare (e.g. Uber specific material made by the author of “Cracking the Coding Interview”), tips for success and advice from actual software engineers and engineering managers from different teams.
For the coding interviews, I revisited fundamental data structures and algorithms, practiced Leetcode exercises of all difficulty levels, and watched mock interview videos from Uber (like this one of Algorithms & Data Structures). Although I usually use these data structures in my job, I’d forgotten some of the foundation details, so studying them again was fun (I’m kind of a nerd!) and helpful for the interviews.
For the design interviews, I completed an interactive course and tried to relate the content to my experience as a software engineer. I also read “Designing Data-Intensive Applications” to brush up on high-level concepts.
Lastly, for the behavioral interviews, I researched Uber’s scale, values, and teams to see if my goals aligned with the company’s vision.”
Give us your 5 best tips to succeed in the Uber interviewing process.
- Prepare thoroughly. Use the prep materials and the enormous amount of resources available to study extensively. Confidence comes from preparation!
- Mock interviews. Practice as if they were real. Use timers, verbalize your thoughts (speak out loud even if you are alone), and complete problems end-to-end. If no one can help you, take advantage of AI tools -I would prompt the coding problem and ask for guidance as if it were the interviewer, without giving out the solution. It worked perfectly.-
- Learn about Uber and the role. Why do you want to work at Uber? How do you see yourself as a Software Engineer at this company?
- Ask questions. Engage with your interviewers to understand the company better and set realistic expectations.
- Be yourself. The interviewers want to know you. Be authentic and don’t be afraid to speak out your thoughts on the process.
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