Rocket Lab Cloud Engineer interview, onsite trivia questions

I arrived enthusiastic for the onsite, but the experience felt misaligned from the start. The interview moved away from the role and into trivia-style questions from other disciplines and roles, including questions from panelists who joined remotely. Instead of evaluating my software engineering fit as a whole, it became a cross-functional Q&A where the questions didn’t feel relevant to the job description.

The environment added to the discomfort. I was asked personal questions beyond my professional background, including about immigration-related timelines, and I didn’t feel the interview was assessing my engineering depth. I also noticed oddities in the workplace setup, such as a pickleball court in an area where forklifts were parked. The whole day felt chaotic rather than intentional.

I also had the impression that eligibility and logistics could override fair consideration. For example, there was no relocation support for certain constraints even though I had been invited to interview. After the questionable questions and the feeling that the process was predetermined, I was rejected.

I left disappointed and with a strong impression that the format wasn’t designed to find the best fit.

Location: Denver, CO. Overall feedback: Negative. Offer status: No offer.