OpenAI Software Engineer Interview Experience — An Unfamiliar IoT Log-Platform Design Question

OpenAI·Software Engineer·Sep 2026
Technical ScreenRejectedhard

Coding: KV store.

System design: This seemed to be a new question. I don't think I'd seen it in interview reports.

Design an IoT log platform: Large numbers of devices continuously collect logs both online and offline, and upload them in batches when online. The platform can also send requests to devices asking them to record particular types of logs.

The platform needs to receive and store logs reliably and calculate metrics by type, such as success and failure rates. Because logs may arrive late—for example, devices may all come back online after spending some time offline—the platform's reports and metrics need to support updates.

The interviewer was nice, but I really didn't know what to do with a new question. I didn't answer very well, and I was rejected.

Job hunting isn't easy.

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Curated and edited by PracHub

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Interview at a glance

Company
OpenAI
Role
Software Engineer
Rounds
Technical Screen
Outcome
Rejected
Difficulty
hard
Interview date
Sep 2026
Questions from this interview
1 question

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