I applied online. The process took 2 days. I interviewed at Toptal (San Diego, CA) in Aug 2016
Interview
Conversation which I found pretty bizarre - individual displayed great pomposity. Then a HackerRank test consisting of 3 difficult programming puzzles to be completed with 90 minutes. The goals of the test and passing criteria were not made clear at the outset. Upon completion of the test I was told I failed. It seems the interviewer did not look at my carefully commented and constructed code at all and simply went by the automatic scoring system. I had expected a qualified engineer might review my efforts, but no. Scores are all they look at.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Solve a knight's tour problem on an infinite chess board.
I applied online. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at Toptal (Cape Town) in Jun 2026
Interview
The interview process has been structured and professional so far. It started with the initial application and screening, followed by an online coding assessment with algorithm-style questions focused on correctness, edge cases, and problem solving under time pressure. After completing that stage, I was invited to schedule a live technical interview. Communication has been clear, with detailed instructions about the interview format, environment requirements, screen sharing, and expectations around working without external assistance. The process feels rigorous and time-sensitive,.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Write a function to return the maximum number of words in a sentence from a given string containing letters, spaces, and sentence-ending punctuation.
Tech screening and then tech interview, leetcode style questions. Then there was a take home project.. not in-person. all done remotely and online. Good interviewers, helpful, easy process and good communication
I applied to Toptal and I'm having an interview days later. What can I prepare for now? I wanna get some details or tips from you. Please help me with your toptal screening interview experience.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
What was the last project you have worked on and what did you do in that project?