J'ai postulé en ligne. Le processus a pris 4 semaines. J'ai passé un entretien chez Zalando (Berlin) en juin 2020
Entretien
Was contacted 1 month after application for a one hour interview with a research scientist. The interview was supposed to be composed of basic ML questions and a coding part.
1- The interviewer started by describing clearly the whole interview process. The questions were definetely not about basic ML, and more of a discussion about my projects. It went in depth and was not easy, discussing RL theory and ethics of DL which was not expected.
2- The interviewer gave around 30 minutes for the coding interview which was not hard.
Received a "soft" rejection a week after, which meant that you can still apply (and contact the recruiter) for a job there. However, the recruiter didn't answer any emails after sending a direct online application to him.
Questions d'entretien [2]
Question 1
Q: What are the pros/cons of using trust region optimization algorithms instead of temporal difference ones to do planning in RL?
The interview process was poorly organized and unprofessional. Across 5 rounds, multiple interviewers used the exact same question, showing a clear lack of coordination. As a candidate with a PhD in Machine Learning, I was given feedback that my machine learning knowledge was insufficient — yet one of the interviewers was unfamiliar with basic ML terminology and apologized at the end of the interview for his limited English proficiency, which made technical communication nearly impossible. The overall experience suggested a significant mismatch between the stated requirements and the actual evaluation criteria, and raised serious questions about the interview process design and interviewer preparation.
Le processus a pris 3 mois. J'ai passé un entretien chez Zalando (Berlin) en oct. 2025
Entretien
They had overall about 5 Interviews.
There is firstly a 30min introduction.
Then a first 1 hour technical interview. If passed you'll go to, final rounds of interviews consisting of 4 interviews: coding, knowledge depth, collaboration, scope and impact.
Questions d'entretien [1]
Question 1
Explain a project and go into details.
Explain a situation where you had difficulty communicating.
J'ai postulé en ligne. Le processus a pris 3 mois. J'ai passé un entretien chez Zalando (Berlin) en oct. 2025
Entretien
The process involved a 30-minute HR screening, followed by the hiring manager round and then four final rounds: (1) Science Depth, (2) Science Breadth (coding), (3) Scope (product-focused), and (4) Collaboration. It felt extremely exhausting - especially having four ‘final’ rounds - only to receive an automated rejection email at the end. The interviewers were very pleasant and the HR team was prompt, but the overall process took nearly three months, which feels disproportionate given the offered salary.
