anthropic | | Interview Experience
Interview Date: Not specified
Result: Not specified
Difficulty: Not specified
Interview Process
The interview focused on performance modeling. The candidate was given two matrices, m and k, along with an A100 40GB GPU. The task was to calculate the time required for different values of m, k, and n. An Excel sheet was provided with the following data:
- m: 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, 512, 1024, 2048, 4096, 8192
- k: 512 (constant across all values)
- n: 1048576 (constant across all values)
The candidate was also given parameters for the A100 GPU.
In the follow-up, the interview included a total of 72 layers, which were combinations of two types:
- Type 1:
mn,nk,mk - Type 2:
mk,kn,mn
The candidate was asked to compute the time and data transfer, as well as whether the computations could fit into the 40GB memory.
Technical Questions
- Calculate the FLOPS needed.
- Evaluate arithmetic intensity.
- Assess data transfer requirements.
Tips & Insights
The candidate noted that despite extensive preparation and sharing of experiences in forums, the interview outcome was unexpectedly low, indicating high expectations from the interviewers.