Software Engineer Interview Experience - San Francisco, California
April 20, 2020
Negative ExperienceNo Offer
Process
Very bad interview process. I went for an onsite interview and then received a take-home assignment. After everything was cleared, they requested three references from current colleagues. I waited for almost three weeks, and then they told me that due to the current situation, they would not move forward.
This was a very terrible interview process. I wasted two months of my time for nothing.
Everything went well, but they hesitated at the very last steps and decided not to move forward? If they decided not to move forward after the onsite, they should have expressed it directly and not wasted people's time.
Questions
Easy coding. Easy system design. However, for system design, they want you to answer what they want to hear. If you have a different approach, they consider it wrong.
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Interview Statistics
The following metrics were computed from 24 interview experiences for the Databricks Software Engineer role in San Francisco, California.
Success Rate
8%
Pass Rate
Databricks's interview process for their Software Engineer roles in San Francisco, California is extremely selective, failing the vast majority of engineers.
Experience Rating
Positive33%
Neutral21%
Negative46%
Candidates reported having negative feelings for Databricks's Software Engineer interview process in San Francisco, California.
Databricks Work Experiences
2.0
Micromanagement and Poor WLB :(
Software Engineer • Current Employee
San Francisco, California, United States
August 2, 2021
Pros: Pre-IPO company, so stock growth is expected.
New hires are paid well.
Interesting problem space, with smart leaders in the field.
Cons: Micromanagement all the way from the top down. This starts from the CEO and trickles down the management chain.
Company and management are dismissive of WLB concerns.
5.0
Driven, Talented Company
Software Engineer • Current Employee
San Francisco, California, United States
February 9, 2021
Pros: Smart, passionate peers with tons of experience from leading companies. Not only does it make it an enjoyable place to work, but a great place to develop your skill set.
Exciting growth / hype.
A ton of trust from management / executive leadership. There are ample opportunities to ask them questions and get real answers; the strategic thinking behind important company decisions is always explained in detail.
Flexibility around work schedule (as long as you can get your work done, it doesn't really matter when you do).
Cons: There's not a lot of room for coasting. It's a place where people work hard.
In eng, we could do with some more diversity, especially around gender. I should qualify by saying:
* Not sure we're worse than most other tech companies.
* We have initiatives to address it, but still, the current situation isn't great.
1.0
Great Business, Terrible Place to Work
Software Engineer • Current Employee
San Francisco, California, United States
May 29, 2025
Pros: The company as a whole is doing well, with good revenue numbers.
The talent bar is generally pretty high, but it's not as good as it once was, and the company is starting to lose top talent.
Cons: - Toxic management and terrible work-life balance.
- Becoming increasingly political, which projects you get to work on, promotions, and performance reviews have been increasingly about who you know.
- Within AI, there's constant project churn, changing roadmaps, and a lack of product vision, leading to very few successful products.
- Substantially decreased refreshers and compensation recently, especially for those who have been there a long time.
- Slow career growth and promotion timelines, and no longer with the increased pay to justify it.
- No longer really innovating or doing anything interesting as a company.
- Still no 401k.
- 2.0Micromanagement and Poor WLB :(Software Engineer • Current EmployeeSan Francisco, California, United StatesAugust 2, 2021Pros: Pre-IPO company, so stock growth is expected. New hires are paid well. Interesting problem space, with smart leaders in the field.Cons: Micromanagement all the way from the top down. This starts from the CEO and trickles down the management chain. Company and management are dismissive of WLB concerns.
- 5.0Driven, Talented CompanySoftware Engineer • Current EmployeeSan Francisco, California, United StatesFebruary 9, 2021Pros: Smart, passionate peers with tons of experience from leading companies. Not only does it make it an enjoyable place to work, but a great place to develop your skill set. Exciting growth / hype. A ton of trust from management / executive leadership. There are ample opportunities to ask them questions and get real answers; the strategic thinking behind important company decisions is always explained in detail. Flexibility around work schedule (as long as you can get your work done, it doesn't really matter when you do).Cons: There's not a lot of room for coasting. It's a place where people work hard. In eng, we could do with some more diversity, especially around gender. I should qualify by saying: * Not sure we're worse than most other tech companies. * We have initiatives to address it, but still, the current situation isn't great.
- 1.0Great Business, Terrible Place to WorkSoftware Engineer • Current EmployeeSan Francisco, California, United StatesMay 29, 2025Pros: The company as a whole is doing well, with good revenue numbers. The talent bar is generally pretty high, but it's not as good as it once was, and the company is starting to lose top talent.Cons: - Toxic management and terrible work-life balance. - Becoming increasingly political, which projects you get to work on, promotions, and performance reviews have been increasingly about who you know. - Within AI, there's constant project churn, changing roadmaps, and a lack of product vision, leading to very few successful products. - Substantially decreased refreshers and compensation recently, especially for those who have been there a long time. - Slow career growth and promotion timelines, and no longer with the increased pay to justify it. - No longer really innovating or doing anything interesting as a company. - Still no 401k.
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