Senior Software Engineer Interview Experience - San Francisco, California
Process
I received an email from a Google recruiter. After a brief talk with her, I was given a chance for the first phone interview.
In the phone interview, I was asked two questions, and I needed to code on Google Docs. After I passed the phone interview, I was invited to Mountain View for an onsite interview. There were five rounds, with one to two interviewers per round. One interviewer was a shadow interviewer, and he would not ask questions.
They asked technical questions, and I had to code on a whiteboard.
Questions
Find the second largest number in a BST.
Find a peak element in an array using an O(log n) method.
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Interview Statistics
The following metrics were computed from 8 interview experiences for the Google Senior Software Engineer role in San Francisco, California.
Success Rate
Google's interview process for their Senior Software Engineer roles in San Francisco, California is extremely selective, failing the vast majority of engineers.
Experience Rating
Candidates reported having very good feelings for Google's Senior Software Engineer interview process in San Francisco, California.
Google Work Experiences
- 4.0Good work culture and pay, but regressing in terms of flexibilitySenior Software Engineer • Current EmployeeSan Francisco, California, United StatesAugust 25, 2025Pros: Many organizations within Google have good work/life balance. The pay is still competitive and largely reflective of performance at the company. It's hard to think of a company that offers more perks and benefits than Google.Cons: Google is a strictly hybrid company and is becoming less and less flexible with how often you can work remotely. Google has started enforcing (not just encouraging) the use of AI tooling in workflows. Layoffs have become somewhat common, and management has cited the cost of running AI hardware as justification.
- 4.0Positive Environment, High CompetitionSenior Software Engineer • Current EmployeeSan Francisco, California, United StatesSeptember 9, 2021Pros: Good Bonuses Self-Development Work environment is amazing Great teamworkCons: Too competitive - too loaded with goals, etc. in some areas in the company.
- 5.0Working at GoogleSenior Software Engineer • Current EmployeeSan Francisco, California, United StatesDecember 30, 2024Pros: Good environment and relatively stable.Cons: Not easy to get career opportunities.
Google Interview Questions
