What is a QA Engineer?

At Glean, the role of a QA Engineer goes far beyond finding bugs. You are a guardian of the "work assistant" experience that thousands of enterprise users rely on daily. Because Glean acts as a unified search and knowledge discovery tool across a company’s entire ecosystem, the quality of our product is defined by accuracy, speed, and absolute reliability.

In this role, you will bridge the gap between complex backend engineering and the end-user experience. You will be responsible for designing robust testing frameworks that can handle the scale of enterprise data. You will work directly with the developer productivity and engineering teams to ensure that new features—ranging from AI-generated answers to complex data connectors—are released with confidence. This position requires a strong engineering mindset; you are not just executing tests, you are building the infrastructure that guarantees quality at scale.

Getting Ready for Your Interviews

Preparation for Glean is distinct because the company values strong Computer Science fundamentals even for Quality Assurance roles. You should approach this not just as a testing interview, but as an engineering interview with a focus on quality.

Core Computer Science Fundamentals – Glean places a heavy emphasis on your understanding of how software works under the hood. You will be evaluated on your grasp of Operating Systems, DBMS, and Object-Oriented Programming (OOP). Interviewers want to know that you understand the systems you are testing, not just the user interface.

Test Strategy & Architecture – You must demonstrate the ability to break down complex systems. Expect to analyze web applications and APIs, dissecting them into testable components. You will be judged on your ability to identify edge cases, security vulnerabilities, and performance bottlenecks in a structured manner.

Problem Solving & DSA – Unlike many QA interviews that focus solely on testing theory, Glean includes Data Structures and Algorithms (DSA) in their screening. You need to be comfortable writing code to solve logic problems, proving that you have the technical capability to write sophisticated automation scripts.

Communication & Culture – You may interview with founding team members or senior engineers. They look for candidates who can articulate technical concepts clearly and who show a proactive, "owner" mindset. Being able to explain the why behind your testing approach is just as important as the how.

Interview Process Overview

The interview process at Glean is rigorous and designed to filter for candidates with strong technical depth. Based on recent candidate experiences, the process can move relatively quickly, sometimes condensing multiple rounds into a few days, though the timeline can vary depending on the recruitment channel.

You should expect a multi-stage process that begins with a screening round—often with a recruiter or a member of the developer productivity team—to assess your background and technical fit. If you pass the screen, you will move into a series of technical rounds. These are not purely behavioral; they are hands-on and technical. You will face questions on CS fundamentals (OS, OOP, DBMS) and coding challenges similar to what a software developer might encounter, adjusted for the QA context. Subsequent rounds will dive deeper into practical testing scenarios, such as breaking down a website’s functionality or designing an API test plan.

The final stages typically involve managerial or behavioral interviews to assess culture fit. Note that the bar is high; the team is known to be selective, looking for objective proof of skills. Communication regarding results can sometimes be brief, so it is important to perform strongly and clearly in every interaction to leave no doubt about your qualifications.

The visual timeline above outlines the typical progression from application to final decision. Use this to structure your study plan: devote the early days to refreshing CS fundamentals and coding basics, and as you progress, shift your focus to system breakdown and test strategy. Be prepared for a high-intensity loop, especially if you are scheduled for back-to-back technical rounds.

Deep Dive into Evaluation Areas

To succeed at Glean, you must demonstrate competency across several distinct technical areas. The interviewers are looking for a blend of theoretical knowledge and practical application.

Computer Science Fundamentals

This is a differentiator in Glean’s process. You cannot rely solely on testing experience; you must have a grip on the building blocks of software.

• Why it matters: To test complex AI and search infrastructure, you need to understand how data is stored, processed, and retrieved.
• What strong performance looks like: You can confidently explain concepts like process management, memory handling, SQL normalization, and inheritance/polymorphism without hesitation.

Be ready to go over:

• Operating Systems – Concepts like deadlocks, paging, threading, and process scheduling.
• DBMS – SQL queries, ACID properties, indexing, and normalization forms.
• OOP Concepts – Encapsulation, abstraction, polymorphism, and inheritance, applied in languages like Java or Python.
• Advanced concepts – Basic networking protocols (HTTP/HTTPS, TCP/IP) and how they impact web application performance.

Example questions or scenarios:

• "Explain the difference between a process and a thread. How does this impact testing a multi-threaded application?"
• "Write a SQL query to find the second highest salary from a table."
• "How would you apply polymorphism in a test automation framework?"

Data Structures & Algorithms (DSA)

You will face coding questions. While they may not be as intense as a core SDE role, they are significant hurdles.

• Why it matters: Automation requires coding. Glean needs engineers who can write efficient, maintainable scripts.
• What strong performance looks like: You can write clean, working code for array, string, or list manipulation problems and explain the time complexity (Big O).

Be ready to go over:

• Arrays & Strings – Manipulation, searching, and sorting.
• Hash Maps – Using key-value pairs for frequency counting or lookups.
• Basic Logic – Iteration, recursion, and conditional logic.

Example questions or scenarios:

• "Given a string, find the first non-repeating character."
• "Reverse an array without using a temporary array."
• "Check if two strings are anagrams of each other."

System Breakdown & Test Planning

This area tests your product intuition and QA mindset.

• Why it matters: You need to identify where a system is likely to break before it actually does.
• What strong performance looks like: You take a systematic approach—starting from high-level user flows and drilling down into API validation, database integrity, and edge cases.

Be ready to go over:

• Web Architecture – Understanding the client-server model, APIs, and frontend rendering.
• Test Scenarios – Functional, non-functional, security, and performance testing.
• API Testing – Verifying response codes, payloads, and latency.

Example questions or scenarios:

• "Here is a login page. Break down every possible test case, including security and edge cases."
• "How would you test the search functionality of an e-commerce website?"
• "Verify an API endpoint that uploads a file. what are the negative test cases?"

The word cloud above highlights the frequency of topics reported by candidates. Notice the prominence of CS Fundamentals, OOP, and DBMS alongside standard testing terms. This confirms that your preparation should be heavily weighted towards "engineering basics" rather than just manual testing methodologies.

Key Responsibilities

As a QA Engineer at Glean, you will be embedded in a high-velocity engineering environment. Your primary responsibility is to ensure the stability and accuracy of Glean’s search and knowledge graph platform. This involves owning the quality of specific features from the design phase through to deployment.

You will spend a significant portion of your time designing and implementing automation frameworks. Manual testing is part of the role, particularly for exploratory testing of new features, but the goal is always to move towards automated regression suites. You will work closely with backend engineers to understand API contracts and ensure that data connectors (integrating tools like Slack, Jira, and Google Drive) are functioning correctly.

Collaboration is key. You will participate in code reviews, design discussions, and incident post-mortems. You act as the voice of the customer, ensuring that the complex algorithms powering Glean result in a simple, bug-free experience for the end user. You will also likely be involved in performance testing, ensuring that search results are returned instantly even as data volumes grow.

Role Requirements & Qualifications

Candidates who succeed at Glean typically possess a strong technical background that rivals that of software developers.

• Technical Skills

  • Proficiency in Coding: Java, Python, or JavaScript are essential for writing automation.
  • Core CS Knowledge: Solid understanding of OS, DBMS, and OOP is a strict requirement.
  • Testing Tools: Experience with Selenium, Playwright, Appium, or similar frameworks.
  • API Proficiency: Strong grasp of RESTful services, JSON, and tools like Postman or curl.

• Experience Level

  • Typically requires a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or a related field (or equivalent rigorous experience).
  • Experience in a product-based company is often preferred over service-based backgrounds, due to the depth of ownership required.

• Soft Skills

  • Articulate Communication: Ability to explain complex bugs to developers and justify test plans to management.
  • Proactivity: The ability to work independently in a fast-paced startup environment without constant hand-holding.

• Nice-to-have vs. Must-have

  • Must-have: Strong coding fundamentals and CS basics.
  • Nice-to-have: Experience with AI/ML testing, search relevance testing, or large-scale distributed systems.

Common Interview Questions

The following questions are drawn from candidate data and reflect the "engineering-first" approach Glean takes toward QA. Do not memorize answers; instead, use these to practice your problem-solving process.

CS & Technical Fundamentals

• "What are the four pillars of Object-Oriented Programming? Give a real-world example of each."
• "Explain the difference between DELETE, TRUNCATE, and DROP commands in SQL."
• "What is a deadlock in an Operating System, and how can it be prevented?"
• "Explain the concept of virtual memory."

Coding & Algorithms

• "Write a program to find the factorial of a number using recursion."
• "How would you find the intersection of two arrays?"
• "Write code to validate if a string is a valid palindrome."

Testing & System Design

• "How would you design a test strategy for a vending machine?"
• "Break down the components of a URL shortening service (like Bit.ly) and tell me how you would test the redirect speed."
• "If a user reports that the search bar is slow, how would you debug this? What layers would you check?"
• "What are the critical test cases for a file upload API?"

These questions are based on real interview experiences from candidates who interviewed at this company. You can practice answering them interactively on Dataford to better prepare for your interview.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Is this role mostly manual or automated testing? The role leans heavily toward automation and engineering. While you must understand manual testing flows to design good strategies, the daily work involves writing code, scripts, and understanding system architecture. The interview focus on CS fundamentals confirms this technical bias.

Q: How difficult is the coding round? The difficulty is generally Medium. You won't typically face "Hard" LeetCode dynamic programming problems, but you must be flawless with basics like arrays, strings, and hash maps. Sloppy syntax or inability to explain logic will result in rejection.

Q: What is the culture like for the QA team? Glean operates with a "founding team" mentality. This means high ownership and high expectations. You are expected to be a peer to developers, not just a downstream tester. The environment is fast-paced, and communication is direct.

Q: How long does the process take? It can be very fast—sometimes completed in a single day for university hires—or spread over a week or two. However, be aware that decision-making can sometimes be opaque.

Other General Tips

Brush up on your Theory: Do not underestimate the Round 1 focus on OS and DBMS. Many QA candidates fail here because they focus only on Selenium or Java. Go back to your college textbooks or online refreshers for these topics.

Be Data-Driven: When asked "Why did you reject this build?", never answer with "It felt buggy." Always reference specific metrics, failure rates, or critical path blockers. Glean builds a data-heavy product; your communication should reflect that.

Clarify the "Why": In the screening round (often with a founding member or senior lead), they are assessing your critical thinking. If you suggest a test tool, explain why it is better than the alternative.

Mock Mock Mock: Practice explaining your thought process out loud while coding. The interviewer wants to see how you debug your own thoughts, not just your code.

Summary & Next Steps

Interviewing for the QA Engineer role at Glean (CA) is a challenging but rewarding process. You are applying to join a company at the forefront of AI and enterprise search, which means the standards for quality and engineering competence are exceptionally high. By mastering your CS fundamentals, sharpening your coding skills, and demonstrating a structured approach to system breakdown, you can set yourself apart from the competition.

Focus your final preparation on the "basics" that many experienced professionals forget: Operating Systems, SQL, and OOP principles. Combine this with a clear, articulate communication style that shows you can hold your own in a room full of engineers.

The compensation for this role is competitive with top-tier tech companies, reflecting the high technical bar. Remember, you have the skills to succeed. Approach the interview with confidence, treat it as a technical discussion between peers, and show them you are ready to build the future of work.

For more insights and community discussions, you can check resources on Dataford.