Roblox’s Interview Process & Questions

The info below is based on conversations with Roblox engineers.

Roblox's Interview Process for Software Engineers: 4 Steps

Mid to senior-level engineers interviewing at Roblox can expect the following hiring process:

• Recruiter call (30 minutes)
• Technical phone screen (60-90 mins)
• Onsite (4-7 hours)
• Bar raiser interview (1 hour)

At Roblox, the process is decentralized, with a lot of variation in interview steps depending on the role and seniority you are interviewing for. You interview for one specific role, and most of your interviewers, with one exception, will come from the same team.

The stages in the process vary depending on the seniority and role you are interviewing for, with managers having a lot of scope to customize the process for their open roles.

General tips:

• Referrals will help you get a recruiter call.
• They look for a good match between a candidate’s skills and the role, so make sure your resume matches the job description you apply to.

The entire process takes about 6-8 weeks. By default, they tend to schedule interviews quite far apart compared to other companies, but if you push you can sometimes move things along.

AI Usage

AI use in Roblox interviews is strictly prohibited.

Step 1: Recruiter Call

If you get a recruiter call, it’s a great sign that they are genuinely interested. Recruiters will often send resumes to hiring managers before they even take a call so you’ve done well to get this far already. The recruiter call itself lasts 30 minutes, and it’s pretty standard fare – they’ll ask you about your previous experience, why you’re interested in Roblox, and what you’re looking for moving forward.

It’s really important, at this stage, to not reveal your salary expectations or where you are in the process with other companies. We’ve written a detailed post about salary negotiation that lays out exactly what to say if recruiters pressure you to name the first number.

Step 2: Technical Phone Screen

There is some variation in the type of screen you might get here, with more senior roles sometimes getting a system design interview. Most mid to senior-level backend and full stack engineers will get a coding round. It will be conducted in CodeSignal. We will cover the types of questions you can get here in the Coding section below.

Step 3: Onsite

Sometimes you’ll get a recruiter prep call before the onsite. You can split the onsite interviews and complete them over a week or two. The mix of interviews can vary by team, and the more senior you are, the more rounds you can get, but this is what most candidates can expect.

• 2 x Coding (1 hour). These interviews will be conducted in CodeSignal. For more detail about the kinds of questions to expect, see the Coding section below.
• 1-2 x System design (1 hour). For more detail about the kinds of questions to expect, see the System Design section below.
• 1-3 Behavioral (1 hour). For more info about what questions to expect, see the Behavioral section below.

Step 4: Bar Raiser Interview

If you pass the onsite, the final round will be a bar raiser interview. The style of this interview is unique to Roblox. They will give you a technical problem, likely one they have faced at Roblox in the past, but it will be designed to take you out of your comfort zone. It’s not a coding exercise but more a test of your creativity, intelligence, values and ability to navigate tricky situations.

An example of the type of technical problem might be that people are finding ways to bypass the Roblox moderation system and post inappropriate content.

The problem [in the Bar Raiser interview] will be something uncomfortable for you - something you can’t assign normal CS best practices to. It’ll be a weird situation.

The problem [in the Bar Raiser interview] will be something uncomfortable for you - something you can’t assign normal CS best practices to. It’ll be a weird situation.

Types of Interview Questions to Expect at Roblox

Coding

Roblox’s coding questions will be LeetCode medium in terms of difficulty but won’t necessarily be LeetCode-style. They will try to place problems in a situational context that is relevant to the type of work you will do there, although you will use algorithms and data structures in your solutions. They aren’t trying to trick you with anything too difficult, but they do want to see clean code. For Roblox, it’s not just about solving the problem, you have to write clean code, run test cases, compile the code etc.

Below are the technical topics you’re likely to encounter in Roblox interviews. To compile this list, we did two things. First, we spoke to some current and former Roblox engineers. Then we cross-referenced all the anecdotes we heard with Glassdoor data AND our own data-set of mock interviews:

System Design

Roblox’s system design rounds come in two different styles. One is a standard system design round, and the other is a deep dive into a system you have previously designed or been involved in. If you only get one round during the onsite, it will likely be the former.

For the standard interview, you might be asked to build something like Minesweeper. For the project deep dive, you will be asked to explain how you built something and what the tradeoffs were.

Check out our guide to system design interviews to help you prepare.

Behavioral

You might have as many as 3 behavioral rounds at Roblox. They can be with the engineering manager, director of engineering and/or VP of engineering overseeing the role you are interviewing for. The interview with the engineering manager and director are standard behavioral interviews, where you will be posed situational questions, and can use something like the STAR method to answer them.

The VP interview is different. It can seem more casual in terms of their tone, but it’s a really critical interview. If you get one of these interviews it’s a good sign that other rounds have gone well, but it is also a round many fail due to treating it casually. They will likely start by going through your resume but will find something to drill down into. They want to hire engineers they can be proud of, so if you have something on your resume, be prepared to justify why it is there and why it makes you a good hire. You might get asked about the project you’re most proud of. Don’t just give them a project that had a successful outcome; show them something that makes you stand out.

Don’t be just a nice guy, be impressive, think about your resume and your stories.