Google Cloud Software Engineer interview experience

The first thing that stood out was that the questions were designed in a LeetCode-like style—rapid, niche, and time-boxed—so even if I felt competent, it still felt like high-stakes “show me you’ve seen this before” theater rather than day-to-day engineering.

In one screen, I worked through the problem but got pushed back because I didn’t ask enough clarifying questions; they expected me to actively confirm requirements, not just jump in. It also didn’t feel like the recruiter had fully set expectations about the level of technical depth, and that mismatch made the conversation more