LINE Tokyo - Experimental Mindset

During the international conference, I learned through a friend in the community that LINE is hiring an Infrastructure Developer Engineer for their Private Cloud. Luckily, LINE also uses OpenStack and is currently adopting Kubernetes, which aligns closely with my background and experience. I decided to apply despite having no prior experience, as I wanted to gain more insights. I've already completed the interview process and received an offer, so I'm sharing my interview experience and some thoughts for those considering joining LINE.

Interview Content

Deficiency: Infrastructure Development Engineer (Private Cloud Platform)
Translation to English: Infrastructure Development Engineer (Private Cloud Platform)
Interview Format: Skype

Pre-test

Before the interview, there was a brief pre-test, followed by several simple coding questions. Afterward, you'll need to provide information including your proficiency with various coding tools and some basic questions about the interview process. The whole session should take about one to two hours. Be aware that some questions might be asked after you've completed the tasks, so keep an eye out.

First Interview

The first interview was conducted by an engineer, and the questions were more technical in nature. The content mainly revolved around my actual work experience, though some parts might not have been as relevant to my background. Since I have extensive experience with OpenStack, and LINE's private cloud is also built on OpenStack, most of the discussion focused on OpenStack-related topics. If you don't have direct experience, expect questions related to cloud infrastructure instead. The questions were deep and required understanding of how different environments work, as well as common challenges you might face in large-scale deployments.

Typical example using Kubernetes:

在一個多 node 的 Kubernetes 環境下，create 了兩個 container 並且需要透過網路互相 ping 到，CNI 是使用 flannel。請問從 container create 到 container 可以互相 ping 到中間是怎麼運作的，packet 會怎麼流？

那如果 CNI 是 Calico，會有什麼不一樣?

在 10000 個 node 的狀況下，可能會有哪些因素會影響 networking 的效能？

Other general topics include any side projects you've worked on, and you might be asked about common issues you've encountered. Personally, I felt I didn't perform very well during the initial interview, but I still progressed to the next stage.

LINE Tokyo Office Tour

The second interview was originally scheduled to be held at LINE’s Tokyo office, but due to a major event taking place in Tokyo, it was changed to a remote interview via video call. We also had a chance to chat casually afterward, which helped me better understand LINE’s work environment and team culture.

I’ll just briefly share a few photos to give you a sense of the atmosphere—no further details needed.

Group Photo:

Lunch Break:

View from LINE’s Tokyo Office:

Second Interview

The second round of interviews was conducted by the manager, and during the interview, there was a simultaneous interpretation provided by a bilingual staff member. The questions were not particularly technical, but most of them aimed to assess whether the interviewee could effectively collaborate with others in a team setting. However, there were also a few relatively simple technical questions. The process following the second interview was explained by HR. Compared to the first interview, I felt the second one was somewhat more relaxed, although the content of the second interview was less impressive, especially regarding the technical aspects.

Conclusion

Overall, the entire LINE interview process was quite enjoyable. After the second interview, I received the offer shortly afterwards. Additionally, I was also quite surprised by the early offer date, which was January 1, 2020, for LINE. I felt I had started the interview process a bit too early… However, this also reflects that these companies are eager to hire qualified candidates.

Finally, after a brief discussion, LINE is still actively seeking candidates for this position. Additionally, Taiwan and Japan still have many open roles available. If you're interested, feel free to apply and check it out. I personally also recommend it.
Infrastructure Engineer Position

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