WLB in DeepMind?

Facebook / Eng
EPin36

Go to company page Facebook Eng

EPin36
Jul 27, 2021 21 Comments

I'm getting interviewed for a position of a Research Engineer in DeepMind coming from an IC4 Software Engineer in Facebook London.

While this is a bump in the correct direction for my career, I'm worried about work/life balance in DeepMind: right now I normally work less than 8 hours a day, have 20 days where I'm allowed to work in my home country, and the entire London office is pretty chill (and has way better food).

What's work/life balance in DeepMind like? Is everyone an overarchieving tryhard working 12 hours a day 6 days a week, or do people normally work a reasonable amount of time?

TC: £145k/y. YOE: 4–6 depending on how you could.

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TOP 21 Comments
  • Amazon
    jjqiai

    Go to company page Amazon

    jjqiai
    Mind sharing your creds? Do you have top tier ML papers?
    Jul 27, 2021 7
    • Would you say it’s somewhat easy to join ml swe teams at fb London with no background / as a general swe?
      Jul 27, 2021
    • Facebook / Eng
      EPin36

      Go to company page Facebook Eng

      EPin36
      OP
      I got lucky in that there was a nice team open when I joined Bootcamp.

      If you have no background then the best place to start is fucking around with sklearn and Jupyter notebooks. After you are comfortable with that then you can probably apply to one of the ML-heavy SWE teams in Facebook.
      Jul 27, 2021
  • Did you land the DeepMind offer at last? If yes and you've started, how are you finding the work life balance so far .
    Aug 13, 2021 3
  • Yelp / Eng
    M.Zuck

    Go to company page Yelp Eng

    M.Zuck
    What’s the offer TC?
    Jul 27, 2021 0
  • New
    stepzero

    New

    stepzero
    Op did you end up joining deepmind? What’s the interview process like?
    Nov 2, 2021 4
    • Facebook / Eng
      EPin36🦎

      Go to company page Facebook Eng

      EPin36🦎
      It was an interview with the team manager to make sure I would be a good fit for the team.

      I didn't have enough experience in neural network outside feedforward ones, and that weighted against me. Knowledge is not enough for entering these companies.
      Nov 4, 2021
    • Spotify
      uAuS76

      Go to company page Spotify

      uAuS76
      Crazy! Sorry to hear. Getting into round 10 of DeepMind means you have some serious chops. Where are you headed next?
      Dec 10, 2021
  • Workday
    bncag7?:6&

    Go to company page Workday

    bncag7?:6&
    Take the opportunity
    Jul 27, 2021 1
    • Facebook / Eng
      EPin36

      Go to company page Facebook Eng

      EPin36
      OP
      I probably will anyway because the more career-oriented past-me is lobbying very hard for this, but I developed such a comfy routine working from home for Facebook that it will be hard to put it behind me.
      Jul 27, 2021