From Bilbao to Interviewing at Google: Daniel’s Journey to Becoming a Global Engineer
Big Tech Interviews: Is It Possible with Only 3 Years of Experience?
Yes - and Daniel proves it.
Meet Daniel Juape Abad, a backend engineer from Spain who decided to aim high and test his limits.
This summer, Daniel interviewed with Google for a Data Engineering position in Warsaw.
While he didn’t land the offer this time, the experience reshaped his mindset and accelerated his career growth — and today, we share what every engineer can learn from his journey.
🛠️ From Bilbao to Backend Engineering
Dani studied Computer Engineering in Bilbao and built his early career in backend development using Java + Spring. He moved across consulting firms and banking roles. But more recently, he set a new goal:
👉 Work abroad in Central Europe.
Switzerland became his top choice - its high salaries, stability, and central location were the most appealing.
Nonetheless, he quickly realised a major blocker: language.
Despite holding a C1 in English, most Swiss job offers required German or French fluency.
Rather than give up, Dani doubled down.
“I started intensive German classes—2.5 hours every weekday. The goal? B2 by end of next year. I want to be fluent enough to really open doors in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.”
💡 His journey at our community
After attending one of our free masterclasses in late 2024, Daniel realized that working at a top company like Google wasn’t as far-fetched as he once thought.
He joined our program and community in June 2025, and focused on:
- Strengthening his System Design fundamentals
- Practicing Algorithmic problem-solving and mastering LeetCode patterns
- Optimising his LinkedIn and CV for international applications
The results spoke for themselves.
In just a few months, Daniel received 25+ interview requests and offers from companies across Switzerland, Germany, and Austria, and — most impressively — an interview with Google Warsaw.
💥 The Google Interview: Lessons Learned
Daniel applied to Google Zürich in May without high expectations.
Months later, he received an unexpected email - not a rejection, but an interview invitation from a Google recruiter for a Data Engineering role in Warsaw, Poland 🇵🇱.
Google has been growing its engineering presence in Poland, and Daniel’s profile fit perfectly.
With only two weeks to prepare, and while balancing a full-time job and daily German lessons, he tackled 50+ LeetCode problems, focusing on:
- Arrays, Trees, and Graphs
- Efficient, medium-difficulty problems
- Mock interviews under time pressure
The interview featured a geometry-based algorithm problem — unusual and highly challenging.
“I didn’t solve it in time, but the experience was golden. The bar was incredibly high — and yet, I felt I belonged.”
Daniel shared his experience on LinkedIn, where his post went viral with over 100,000 impressions - a reflection of how many engineers resonated with his story.
Key Takeaways
Daniel's story is proof that:
- You don’t need 10 years of experience to aim for top companies.
- Language barriers can be broken - with commitment.
- Failure is not the end - it’s data for your next strategy.
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