Hello, everyone! Today, I’m sharing my experience interviewing for fellowship internship* at Atlan, a company I have admired for quite some time. It's been over a month since I received the offer letter, and I feel this is the perfect opportunity to walk you through my journey. My goal is to provide insights into the process, so if you’re planning to apply or just curious about what it's like, this blog might be just what you need.
Why am I sharing this? When I was preparing for the Software Engineering Internship role at Atlan, there weren’t many resources or detailed accounts available online. This gap inspired me to document my journey—both the highs and lows. So, without further ado, let’s dive in!
How It Began
Atlan’s internship wasn’t something I initially planned for. The opportunity was part of a program called the Atlan Engineering Fellowship, which they advertised on LinkedIn. I’d been following Atlan for some time because they recently had a Series C - funding round and when I looked at what it does I admired their work in data governance and engineering.
When I first came across the fellowship announcement, I was instantly intrigued. The application process was laid out neatly on their Notion-powered website (which shows how cool and organized the company is).
Every step of the process was mentioned with absolute clarity. The program included a one-week in-person onboarding in Delhi, offering opportunities to network, gain a certificate, and possibly secure an internship.
The fellowship was scheduled for October, It sounded like a great opportunity, so I filled out the application form and even reached out for referrals. Unfortunately, I couldn’t secure any referrals, but I proceeded with my application.
The Rejection (Twice!)
I applied in the first week of August. Shortly afterwards, I received an email on August 17th —a rejection. The email, though polite, was disappointing. I had spent time carefully crafting my responses, explaining why I wanted to work at Atlan, and sharing my experiences. Yet, they opted to move forward with other candidates.
Then came something unusual. On September 1st, I received another rejection email—yes, twice! This second rejection left me confused but also a little amused. I had no idea what was coming next.
A Surprise Shortlist
On September 5th, out of nowhere, I received an email from CodeJudge, congratulating me on making it to the next round. I was initially unsure about what it meant, but upon digging deeper, I realized it was related to my Atlan application.
The round involved a 30-minute coding test to be done before September 8th. It consisted of a single LeetCode medium-level question. I quickly solved the problem using a brute solution and fortunately was able to optimise it for all test cases in time.
The following day, on September 6th, I received a detailed report from Atlan with my test results. This transparency was refreshing—it’s rare for companies to share test results with candidates.
The Assignment:
Soon after, I received an email from Nanda, Atlan’s Hiring Lead, informing me that they had received my challenge and were looking into it. On September 11th, I received an email from the team asking if I needed help with the challenge. The email suggested that I was still working on it and encouraged me to reach out with any questions. This left me puzzled because I had only completed the coding test and wasn’t aware of any additional assignments. Seeking clarification, I responded, explaining that I had only received the coding test.
The next day, on September 12th, I got a reply informing me that I was supposed to have received another assessment.
However, life happened. My college exams coincided with this challenge, and the project felt overwhelming because of the timeline provided. Considering the effort required for just a four-day fellowship, I chose to step back and informed Atlan that I couldn’t complete the assignment.
The Assignment (Part 2):
After all hopes were lost, I received an email from them regarding the fellowship program. They mentioned having candidates from various examinations and asked if I could provide my availability for the program. I filled out the provided Google form where I indicated my availability. This interaction gave me the impression that they were still organizing and figuring things out on their end. Nonetheless, I promptly responded with my availability for the internship.
The Fellowship Evolves
A few days later, I received an exciting update: Atlan had restructured its program into a fellowship followed by a six-month internship, with the added benefit of full travel and accommodation for the onboarding week. This new format seemed incredibly appealing, and I was eager to dive in.
Excited about the opportunity, I reached out to request the assignment and got started right away. I dedicated all my time to designing, optimizing, and building the Personalized Travel Itinerary Generator.
I implemented a retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) model powered by Llama 3.2 LLM, ensuring the application delivered intelligent and dynamic itineraries tailored to user preferences. The RAG model had data from India’s top holiday destinations from a CSV file containing verified travel destination data sourced from Kaggle. This dataset has information about 300+ destinations, and user ratings, providing a rich source of information for generating personalized itineraries.
The process was meticulous—I focused on creating an intuitive frontend with React and backend using Python and FastAPI.
screenshot of my project landing page ^
I also prepared a comprehensive doc, detailing the application's architecture, decision-making process, and potential areas for future enhancement.
This project wasn’t just about meeting the requirements; it was about showcasing both creativity and technical skills. From design to deployment, I poured my best effort into making this application.
After completing the project, I submitted my work with high hopes. Given the effort and time I had invested, I eagerly awaited feedback.
However, days passed with no response. The lack of communication was unsettling. After dedicating so much to the project, the possibility of being ghosted was disheartening. I just wanted clarity, whether it was positive or negative.
I reached out multiple times via email every day, hoping for a reply 🫠
Despite the delays, I stayed optimistic, knowing that the effort I put into the challenge would eventually pay off.
After several days of waiting, I finally received a response. They were happy with my assignment and wanted to move things forward. After a few calls to coordinate my availability, 18th October was chosen for the next stage.
The Technical Interview: A Deep Dive
The first technical round was an intense one-hour session with Atlan’s senior engineers. The panel consisted of two engineers — one specializing in backend systems and the other in frontend development.
Backend Discussion
The interview started with a deep dive into my project. Interestingly, the interviewers hadn’t reviewed my submission beforehand, giving me the chance to explain everything in detail. They asked me questions about:
System design: How I’d optimize the project, improve functionality, and enhance scalability.
Database: Why I chose a particular database, how I would manage rate-limiting, and ways to cache responses efficiently.
APIs: The logic behind my API integrations and their implementations.
While I confidently tackled most backend questions, I stumbled on a Redis-related query. My limited experience with Redis in production environments showed, but I owned up to it and did my best to answer.
Frontend Discussion
By this time, 45 minutes had passed, and they knew I was strong on the backend, so I hinted that my frontend skills weren’t as strong. The frontend interview focused on improving user experience and my design philosophy. They asked how I’d change a few things, optimize for older browsers, and enhance accessibility. While I didn’t know about concepts like polyfills and Babel at the time, I made a note to research them later. The interviewer explained these concepts well to me.
Towards the end of the interview, we discussed work-life balance at Atlan, the remote nature of the job, and how my day would look like. I loved how interns and SDE 1s are given the same exposure, responsibilities, and opportunities to explore.
The Managerial Round: A Candid Conversation
Nanda called to inform me that I had cleared the round, and he would like to schedule another half-hour interview.
Later that day, at 5:30 PM, I had a second interview — a managerial round with one of Atlan’s senior leaders, who had been with the founders even before Atlan was established when they were working on a different product. This session, which lasted over an hour, was one of the most candid and intense interviews I’ve ever experienced.
The interviewer dug into my personal and professional background, asking about:
My family, upbringing, and values.
My academic journey and internships.
Feedback from previous roles and how I handled challenges.
What I was hoping to gain from the internship at Atlan.
This round was less about technical skills and more about understanding who I was as a person. While the feedback I received was constructive, it left me feeling unsure about my chances. It was the most intense managerial behaviour round I had ever experienced, mainly because I wasn’t fully prepared for it. I would highly advise preparing thoroughly for this round. I was caught off guard in this round.
The Final Verdict
After Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, each day felt like it would never end, and I was anxiously waiting.
Finally, on Monday morning, I received a call from Nanda, congratulating me on being SHORTLISTED FOR THE INTERNSHIP!! 🥳🎉
The offer included the fellowship week in Delhi (November 4th–8th) and a six-month remote internship. I admire how Atlan, as a startup, constantly gathers feedback from its team members and acts upon it immediately. It’s not one of those situations where they say, "We'll consider it for the next batch"— they genuinely make changes right away, which is refreshing to see.
Reflecting on the entire experience, I have to say I’m impressed with Atlan. I love their website, the team, (esp. cooperative hiring manager Nanda and kind interviewers), and the fact that the company operates entirely remotely. Everything about Atlan resonates with me, from its innovative approach to its work culture. However, I had some personal commitments that prevented me from joining Atlan at that moment. While I’m disappointed that I couldn’t take part, I do not regret my decision—it was the right choice at the time. But if an opportunity arises again in the future, I would definitely consider working with Atlan. No hard feelings. This has been my fellowship and interview experience with Atlan.
Reflections and Key Takeaways
Looking back, this journey was a mix of emotions—excitement, confusion, and ultimately, gratitude. Here are some key lessons for anyone preparing for Atlan or similar opportunities:
Persistence Pays Off: Despite initial rejections, staying engaged with the process opened new doors.
Be Transparent: Communicate openly about challenges, such as deadlines or overlapping commitments.
Skills Matter: They are looking for candidates with prior experience and those who have worked on relevant projects. If you lack that, come back more accomplished next time.
Preparation is Key: Focus on both technical and behavioural aspects. Atlan values well-rounded candidates who can articulate their thought processes clearly.
fin~
If you’re considering applying, I encourage you to take the leap. Whether or not you make it, the process itself is a valuable opportunity to learn and grow. And who knows? It might just become the stepping stone to your next big adventure. At the very least, you’ll gain great experience and have an amazing story to tell, where all odds were against you.
Good luck, and feel free to reach out to me on LinkedIn.
