Applied Engineer, Backend Interview Experience

I got into the process through cold outreach plus a referral, and even that took a month or two of pushing before I got the first interview. After a pretty normal recruiter screen, I had two same-day phone rounds: one coding and one system design. The onsite was four rounds for me: coding, system design, technical deep dive on my own project, and behavioral. My big takeaway is that the coding bar is much more intense than standard big tech and feels closer to Anthropic, while the system design and behavioral pieces are more familiar. I was still waiting on the decision when we talked, and the biggest wildcard in the whole process was interviewer variability.

I got into the process through cold outreach plus a referral, and even that took a month or two of pushing before I got the first interview. After a pretty normal recruiter screen, I had two same-day phone rounds: one coding and one system design. The onsite was four rounds for me: coding, system design, technical deep dive on my own project, and behavioral. My big takeaway is that the coding bar is much more intense than standard big tech and feels closer to Anthropic, while the system design and behavioral pieces are more familiar. I was still waiting on the decision when we talked, and the biggest wildcard in the whole process was interviewer variability.