Handshake

Software Engineer Interview Experience - San Francisco, California

February 1, 2021

Positive ExperienceGot Offer

Process

Initial Phone Screen - With Hiring Manager

Tech Screen

On-site

Everyone was very respectful. The interviewers were great. They took about a week and a half to call with an offer. The recruiters made sure to keep me updated every step of the way.

Questions

Tech Screen: Vending machine OOP.

On-site: System design (they send a great study guide; make sure to review all of that).

Design a Reddit-like web app, and two behavioral interviews.

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Interview Statistics

The following metrics were computed from 5 interview experiences for the Handshake Software Engineer role in San Francisco, California.

Success Rate

100%

Pass Rate

Handshake's interview process for their Software Engineer roles in San Francisco, California is incredibly easy as the vast majority of engineers get an offer after going through it.

Experience Rating

Positive100%

Neutral0%

Negative0%

Candidates reported having very good feelings for Handshake's Software Engineer interview process in San Francisco, California.

Handshake Work Experiences

Worst company I ever worked for

Software Engineer • Current Employee

San Francisco, California, United States

January 24, 2024

Pros: Decent colleagues up to L6.

Cons: The executive team (except Christine) is extremely toxic and micromanaging. The directors are mostly brown-nosers. ICs are burned out or checked out.

Worst company I ever worked for

Software Engineer • Current Employee

San Francisco, California, United States

January 24, 2024

Pros: Decent colleagues up to L6.

Cons: The executive team (except Christine) is extremely toxic and micromanaging. The directors are mostly brown-nosers. ICs are burned out or checked out.

It's getting worse every year

Software Engineer • Current Employee

October 25, 2025

Pros: Great peers and managers to work with. A lot of tech savvy people. Insurance is pretty good,

Cons: The mission has changed in a bad way. It used to be 'democratizing opportunities', but they implemented AI in their feature without considering the impact on students attending smaller schools.

It's getting worse every year

Software Engineer • Current Employee

October 25, 2025

Pros: Great peers and managers to work with. A lot of tech savvy people. Insurance is pretty good,

Cons: The mission has changed in a bad way. It used to be 'democratizing opportunities', but they implemented AI in their feature without considering the impact on students attending smaller schools.

Everyone here is looking to leave, it's not a good place to be

Software Engineer • Current Employee

Pros: Pay isn't bad They've lasted a while Technology is good

Cons: Constant silent layoffs, not a stable place at all They love to let people go after a certain amount of time, you'd be hard pressed finding people there that's been there longer than a year Most people end up on FMLA because they work people until they end up in the hospital Financially they are not doing well

Everyone here is looking to leave, it's not a good place to be

Software Engineer • Current Employee

Pros: Pay isn't bad They've lasted a while Technology is good

Cons: Constant silent layoffs, not a stable place at all They love to let people go after a certain amount of time, you'd be hard pressed finding people there that's been there longer than a year Most people end up on FMLA because they work people until they end up in the hospital Financially they are not doing well

Worst company I ever worked for

Software Engineer • Current Employee

San Francisco, California, United States

January 24, 2024

Pros: Decent colleagues up to L6.

Cons: The executive team (except Christine) is extremely toxic and micromanaging. The directors are mostly brown-nosers. ICs are burned out or checked out.

1.0
Worst company I ever worked for
Software Engineer • Current Employee
San Francisco, California, United States
January 24, 2024
Pros: Decent colleagues up to L6.
Cons: The executive team (except Christine) is extremely toxic and micromanaging. The directors are mostly brown-nosers. ICs are burned out or checked out.

It's getting worse every year

Software Engineer • Current Employee

October 25, 2025

Pros: Great peers and managers to work with. A lot of tech savvy people. Insurance is pretty good,

Cons: The mission has changed in a bad way. It used to be 'democratizing opportunities', but they implemented AI in their feature without considering the impact on students attending smaller schools.

2.0
It's getting worse every year
Software Engineer • Current Employee
October 25, 2025
Pros: Great peers and managers to work with. A lot of tech savvy people. Insurance is pretty good,
Cons: The mission has changed in a bad way. It used to be 'democratizing opportunities', but they implemented AI in their feature without considering the impact on students attending smaller schools.

Everyone here is looking to leave, it's not a good place to be

Software Engineer • Current Employee

Pros: Pay isn't bad They've lasted a while Technology is good

Cons: Constant silent layoffs, not a stable place at all They love to let people go after a certain amount of time, you'd be hard pressed finding people there that's been there longer than a year Most people end up on FMLA because they work people until they end up in the hospital Financially they are not doing well

1.0
Everyone here is looking to leave, it's not a good place to be
Software Engineer • Current Employee
June 10, 2025
Pros: Pay isn't bad They've lasted a while Technology is good
Cons: Constant silent layoffs, not a stable place at all They love to let people go after a certain amount of time, you'd be hard pressed finding people there that's been there longer than a year Most people end up on FMLA because they work people until they end up in the hospital Financially they are not doing well

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