[05-2025]Cisco ThousandEyes Production Engineer (SRE) Interview Experience
~ Anonymous tale
Overview
I recently completed the interview process for a Senior Production Engineer (SRE) role at Cisco. The entire process was well-structured and focused on both technical depth and cultural fit. Here's my detailed breakdown of each round.
Interview Process Structure
Screening Round - Hiring Manager
Format: Resume deep dive with hiring manager
Focus: Profile alignment and skill assessment
Experience: The hiring manager thoroughly evaluated my resume and assessed how my background matched the specific skill set needed for their team. This was a comprehensive discussion about my experience and how it would translate to the role.
Round 1: Practical Coding Challenge
Format: Live coding session
Challenge: Implement a CLI tool (Grep command) in language of choice in 45 minutes
Constraints:
Use built-in libraries/modules only becuase codepad won’t allow you to import anything from outside. Though cisco do allow. Eg. external libraries like Python Click are theoretically allowed but not supported by their coding platform
My Experience: This was a practical test of coding skills with real-world application focus. The constraint of using only built-in modules made it more challenging and tested fundamental programming knowledge rather than library familiarity.
Round 2: SRE Mindset & Practices
Focus Areas:
Service readiness checks
Troubleshooting methodologies
Incident management processes
Change management practices
SLI/SLO concepts and implementation
Experience: This round thoroughly evaluated my understanding of SRE principles and operational excellence. The questions were scenario-based and tested both theoretical knowledge and practical application of SRE practices.
Resources:
Round 3: Kubernetes Troubleshooting
Format: Hands-on shell access to live environment
Primary Challenge: Debug and fix a pod stuck in CrashLoopBackOff state
Additional Topics:
Kubernetes-specific troubleshooting questions
Linux command proficiency
Container orchestration concepts
Experience: This was the most practical round, requiring real-time problem-solving skills. The combination of hands-on debugging followed by rapid-fire technical questions tested both depth and breadth of knowledge.
Round 4: System design
Format: Design a service at scale