Senior Software Engineer Interview Experience - Tysons Corner, Virginia
Process
The first screening was with the recruiter.
I received an online coding quiz. Two of the questions were easyish, one was hard, and one was medium. I didn't solve all of them correctly but was invited to the Power Day.
The Power Day consisted of four interviews: one system design, one behavioral, and two live coding.
I didn't receive great feedback on each one, but there were some funny moments. For instance, one interviewer wanted me to accept user input in JavaScript. I didn't know how to do it offhand, and we couldn't figure it out using Google.
The last interview of the day was another live coding challenge that I messed up a few things on, but I got it right with some guidance from the interviewer.
Ultimately, I was downleveled. I ended up denying the offer because they were placing me on a random team that I had no real interest in joining. They didn't really help in trying to get me into a different team, and when I turned the job down, I never heard anything again.
Questions
System design question about various banking features that a bank may have.
Was this helpful?
Interview Statistics
The following metrics were computed from 2 interview experiences for the Capital One Senior Software Engineer role in Tysons Corner, Virginia.
Success Rate
Capital One's interview process for their Senior Software Engineer roles in Tysons Corner, Virginia is extremely selective, failing the vast majority of engineers.
Experience Rating
Candidates reported having mixed feelings for Capital One's Senior Software Engineer interview process in Tysons Corner, Virginia.
Capital One Work Experiences
- 2.0Weird performance review. Copy a lot of bad habits from Amazon.Senior Software Engineer • Former EmployeeDallas, Texas, United StatesNovember 17, 2025Pros: My perspectives as a software engineer working for Capital One: * Use very good and modern software stacks. Whatever the latest AWS has, Capital One has it. Capital One is one of the top customers of AWS, so AWS always tries to sell the latest and greatest whatever they have to Capital One. You can rest assured that you are on top of cloud technology when working for this company. * They have one of the best security practices of any companies I have ever seen. They were hacked in the past and are severely scared of ever being hacked again.Cons: Their performance review is a variation of "stack ranking", Jack Welch style (look it up). Performance is done every 6 months, and they usually let go around 10-15% of a team/group per year through this method. Attrition is astronomical, even within the company (there are a lot of job changes within the engineering organizations). I have seen directors (both engineering and products) being let go through this process. Even managers will jump when they sense they or their groups are in peril. I myself had 5 different managers in less than 2 years. Ask yourself if you want to work for a job where your own manager is not looking out for you and will jump at any opportunities. There are no quarterly or half-year planning or OKRs whatsoever, just a weird PowerPoint presentation of what you did in the half-year, and they stack rank you against your peers. If you are the quiet type, you will be on the chopping block sooner or later. Oh, did I say they copy Amazon a lot? They are a big customer of Amazon. They are hiring managers/directors from Amazon, and these Amazon people bring the same culture to Capital One, and I'm not sure if I like this.
- 3.0Good WLB but PIP sucksSenior Software Engineer • Current EmployeeNew York, NYNovember 12, 2025Pros: - Learning Opportunities - WLB - Freedom to innovateCons: - Incompetent Engineers - PIP
- 5.0Fast Moving IndustrySenior Software Engineer • Current EmployeeChicago, ILNovember 4, 2025Pros: Capital One is fairly modern for a banking company as their phrase is "a tech company that does banking". Exciting work especially with the recent Discover acquisition. Great work-life balance.Cons: I think there is a little bit of truth to the toxicity that comes from many ex-Amazon employees. Pay is not as competitive compared to other tech companies but again that is the trade off for great work life balance.
Capital One Interview Questions
