Process
The process was very long and involved many steps. I even interviewed with a referral.
It began with a phone screen, followed by one or two hour-long interviews, and then a full day of interviews. During one of the full-day interviews, my interviewer did not show up.
They initially said they would reschedule me for the next day. However, after I asked, "So you want me to take another day off work then?" they managed to reschedule me for the same day.
They acted as if I essentially had the job, even telling me what the offer would be if I received one, with the explanation that they would call the following week to confirm.
Ultimately, I received a stock email stating the position had already been filled.
Overall, the experience was unprofessional, very time-consuming, and disorganized.
Questions
The interview process included coding questions, communication/culture fit interviews, and a system design one.
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Interview Statistics
The following metrics were computed from 48 interview experiences for the Etsy Software Engineer role in United States.
Success Rate
4%
Pass Rate
Etsy's interview process for their Software Engineer roles in the United States is extremely selective, failing the vast majority of engineers.
Experience Rating
Positive31%
Neutral25%
Negative44%
Candidates reported having negative feelings for Etsy's Software Engineer interview process in United States.
Etsy Work Experiences
5.0
Best Company I have worked at
Software Engineer • Current Employee
Ciudad de Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico
September 3, 2025
Pros: Salary is highly competitive when compared to other companies in the IT industry. Gatherings are held several times a year. I have visited the Brooklyn headquarters three times in less than a year. Pantry coupons, dental and medical insurance, and the list goes on.
Cons: None that I can think of as of now.
3.0
Let's keep it real
Software Engineer • Former Employee
Brooklyn, New York, United States
October 18, 2017
Pros: These one-star ratings are silly. The truth is, Josh Silverman has articulated a vision and created focus like I've never seen before. Most employees are generous, helpful, and fun to be around. The company is still committed to having a positive impact on the world.
Cons: Everyone is waiting to see whether Etsy is still a good place to grow a career or if it will slowly but surely burn through its experienced workforce.
Don't expect training for new skills, and don't expect to go to a conference without a fight.
Middle management is a mixed bag. Some are toxic and abusive. Others are fine.
5.0
I'm Lucky That I Can Say "I Love My Job"
Software Engineer • Current Employee
Brooklyn, New York, United States
November 9, 2017
Pros: As an engineer, I love Etsy's culture of curiosity. While industry-standard best practices are of course important and are the standard for good reasons, it never hurts to explore and experiment with alternative approaches. Having experienced Etsy from an inside perspective for over a year now, I can definitely attest to the increased freedom, benefit, and satisfaction from exercising the curiosity culture in my day-to-day work.
As a human and just from the "I want to work so I can live my life" perspective, Etsy's benefits, culture (not necessarily just engineering culture), work-life balance, and many other aspects hit the spot for me. Etsy is definitely a people-oriented company, and while all the initiatives and projects ultimately reflect that people-oriented mindset, it also reflects nicely in the company culture for employees, too.
Cons: Purely as an engineer, there's just one relatively minor point. Having started as a small startup back in 2005, there are definitely remnants of a bygone era of "wild west coding" at Etsy.
New code that gets churned out nowadays is honestly fine, but it's not entirely rare to come across a codebase that has a lot of legacy code in it still.
With some of the shakeups in the past half a year (as of November '17), there have also been some re-orgs, and while it was overall positive and a great change in my opinion, naturally there are still some kinks to be worked out.
That said, I want to keep it clear that the above two points are actively being worked on, at least within the teams I interact with. They're just points to keep in mind given recent events.
- 5.0Best Company I have worked atSoftware Engineer • Current EmployeeCiudad de Mexico, Mexico City, MexicoSeptember 3, 2025Pros: Salary is highly competitive when compared to other companies in the IT industry. Gatherings are held several times a year. I have visited the Brooklyn headquarters three times in less than a year. Pantry coupons, dental and medical insurance, and the list goes on.Cons: None that I can think of as of now.
- 3.0Let's keep it realSoftware Engineer • Former EmployeeBrooklyn, New York, United StatesOctober 18, 2017Pros: These one-star ratings are silly. The truth is, Josh Silverman has articulated a vision and created focus like I've never seen before. Most employees are generous, helpful, and fun to be around. The company is still committed to having a positive impact on the world.Cons: Everyone is waiting to see whether Etsy is still a good place to grow a career or if it will slowly but surely burn through its experienced workforce. Don't expect training for new skills, and don't expect to go to a conference without a fight. Middle management is a mixed bag. Some are toxic and abusive. Others are fine.
- 5.0I'm Lucky That I Can Say "I Love My Job"Software Engineer • Current EmployeeBrooklyn, New York, United StatesNovember 9, 2017Pros: As an engineer, I love Etsy's culture of curiosity. While industry-standard best practices are of course important and are the standard for good reasons, it never hurts to explore and experiment with alternative approaches. Having experienced Etsy from an inside perspective for over a year now, I can definitely attest to the increased freedom, benefit, and satisfaction from exercising the curiosity culture in my day-to-day work. As a human and just from the "I want to work so I can live my life" perspective, Etsy's benefits, culture (not necessarily just engineering culture), work-life balance, and many other aspects hit the spot for me. Etsy is definitely a people-oriented company, and while all the initiatives and projects ultimately reflect that people-oriented mindset, it also reflects nicely in the company culture for employees, too.Cons: Purely as an engineer, there's just one relatively minor point. Having started as a small startup back in 2005, there are definitely remnants of a bygone era of "wild west coding" at Etsy. New code that gets churned out nowadays is honestly fine, but it's not entirely rare to come across a codebase that has a lot of legacy code in it still. With some of the shakeups in the past half a year (as of November '17), there have also been some re-orgs, and while it was overall positive and a great change in my opinion, naturally there are still some kinks to be worked out. That said, I want to keep it clear that the above two points are actively being worked on, at least within the teams I interact with. They're just points to keep in mind given recent events.
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