Handshake

Staff Software Engineer Interview Experience - United States

November 1, 2022

Negative ExperienceGot Offer

Process

Started with a typical screening by call and alignment, which went fine.

Round two was a take-home test of the typical format. Connect a UI to this random JSON response. If my interview had been during more certain times, I would have declined this pointless step.

Round three was live coding against the same project above. It went very smoothly, and the interviewer had wonderful things to say about me.

Lastly, I had an interview with the CTO. He was awful. He asked completely irrelevant questions and had no understanding of client engineering (and said so), so he asked me questions about search engineering. This interview was so awkward and inappropriate that I nearly declined to move forward right after.

Finally, I heard back from their recruiter (he was a great guy), but they decided to seriously low-ball me on comp and level. The recruiter was dumbfounded by this and said it didn’t match what they had been told previously. I declined, and the recruiter agreed that I should.

Questions

Set up a UI to parse a JSON object from a URL.

Was this helpful?

Interview Statistics

The following metrics were computed from 1 interview experience for the Handshake Staff Software Engineer role in United States.

Success Rate

0%

Pass Rate

Handshake's interview process for their Staff Software Engineer roles in the United States is extremely selective, failing the vast majority of engineers.

Experience Rating

Positive0%

Neutral0%

Negative100%

Candidates reported having very negative feelings for Handshake's Staff Software Engineer interview process in United States.

Handshake Work Experiences

Optimistic for the future

Staff Software Engineer • Current Employee

January 25, 2024

Pros: I've really enjoyed my time at Handshake and am proud of the business we've been able to build. I've been on several different teams throughout my time here. What these teams all have in common is that they are full of smart, kind, and hard-working people. The team is top-notch, and I look forward to working with and learning from my teammates every day. I have been very pleased with the work-life balance at Handshake. I've definitely had some long days/weeks and a couple of weekends, but everyone I've worked with understands that my family comes first for me. As far as the business outlook, I'm optimistic. The business is continuing to grow, especially some new segments that we've started to invest more heavily in. I'm hopeful that we made it through a somewhat hard 2023 but are set up for success in the future. I've also really enjoyed the technical challenges at Handshake. I've grown tremendously in my time here and have been able to work on some projects with really large impact.

Cons: We went through a time where, especially on engineering, there was a lack of trust in leadership. Steps have been made, and are continuing to be made, to improve that. For some, I don't think that trust will be restored. It is very fast-paced and can be high-stress. I personally enjoy this environment, but it is not for everyone.

Optimistic for the future

Staff Software Engineer • Current Employee

January 25, 2024

Pros: I've really enjoyed my time at Handshake and am proud of the business we've been able to build. I've been on several different teams throughout my time here. What these teams all have in common is that they are full of smart, kind, and hard-working people. The team is top-notch, and I look forward to working with and learning from my teammates every day. I have been very pleased with the work-life balance at Handshake. I've definitely had some long days/weeks and a couple of weekends, but everyone I've worked with understands that my family comes first for me. As far as the business outlook, I'm optimistic. The business is continuing to grow, especially some new segments that we've started to invest more heavily in. I'm hopeful that we made it through a somewhat hard 2023 but are set up for success in the future. I've also really enjoyed the technical challenges at Handshake. I've grown tremendously in my time here and have been able to work on some projects with really large impact.

Cons: We went through a time where, especially on engineering, there was a lack of trust in leadership. Steps have been made, and are continuing to be made, to improve that. For some, I don't think that trust will be restored. It is very fast-paced and can be high-stress. I personally enjoy this environment, but it is not for everyone.

Flexible, Good Pay, Cutthroat

AI Fellow • Current Employee

San Francisco, California, United States

November 24, 2025

Pros: Flexible, Accommodating, Teamwork, Good pay.

Cons: There can be pressure, and it is cutthroat.

Flexible, Good Pay, Cutthroat

AI Fellow • Current Employee

San Francisco, California, United States

November 24, 2025

Pros: Flexible, Accommodating, Teamwork, Good pay.

Cons: There can be pressure, and it is cutthroat.

Flexible Work, Inconsistent Pay

Remote AI Trainer • Current Employee

Hartford, Connecticut, United States

November 18, 2025

Pros: The work can be exciting if you like to dissect complicated problems in your field of expertise. Work as many hours, from anywhere, at any time you want. Good entry into the field of data annotation for AI training. The pay can be very high if you work quickly.

Cons: The amount of time you get paid for each task is capped. Therefore, the pay per hour may not be accurate depending on the role you are assigned. Reviewer roles tend to be paid more consistently than fellows due to unrealistic time caps. Also, there are many unpaid components of the job, despite being pretty essential. For example, checking for changes in project requirements (expect very frequent changes) or attending office hours for help.

Flexible Work, Inconsistent Pay

Remote AI Trainer • Current Employee

Hartford, Connecticut, United States

November 18, 2025

Pros: The work can be exciting if you like to dissect complicated problems in your field of expertise. Work as many hours, from anywhere, at any time you want. Good entry into the field of data annotation for AI training. The pay can be very high if you work quickly.

Cons: The amount of time you get paid for each task is capped. Therefore, the pay per hour may not be accurate depending on the role you are assigned. Reviewer roles tend to be paid more consistently than fellows due to unrealistic time caps. Also, there are many unpaid components of the job, despite being pretty essential. For example, checking for changes in project requirements (expect very frequent changes) or attending office hours for help.

Optimistic for the future

Staff Software Engineer • Current Employee

January 25, 2024

Pros: I've really enjoyed my time at Handshake and am proud of the business we've been able to build. I've been on several different teams throughout my time here. What these teams all have in common is that they are full of smart, kind, and hard-working people. The team is top-notch, and I look forward to working with and learning from my teammates every day. I have been very pleased with the work-life balance at Handshake. I've definitely had some long days/weeks and a couple of weekends, but everyone I've worked with understands that my family comes first for me. As far as the business outlook, I'm optimistic. The business is continuing to grow, especially some new segments that we've started to invest more heavily in. I'm hopeful that we made it through a somewhat hard 2023 but are set up for success in the future. I've also really enjoyed the technical challenges at Handshake. I've grown tremendously in my time here and have been able to work on some projects with really large impact.

Cons: We went through a time where, especially on engineering, there was a lack of trust in leadership. Steps have been made, and are continuing to be made, to improve that. For some, I don't think that trust will be restored. It is very fast-paced and can be high-stress. I personally enjoy this environment, but it is not for everyone.

5.0
Optimistic for the future
Staff Software Engineer • Current Employee
January 25, 2024
Pros: I've really enjoyed my time at Handshake and am proud of the business we've been able to build. I've been on several different teams throughout my time here. What these teams all have in common is that they are full of smart, kind, and hard-working people. The team is top-notch, and I look forward to working with and learning from my teammates every day. I have been very pleased with the work-life balance at Handshake. I've definitely had some long days/weeks and a couple of weekends, but everyone I've worked with understands that my family comes first for me. As far as the business outlook, I'm optimistic. The business is continuing to grow, especially some new segments that we've started to invest more heavily in. I'm hopeful that we made it through a somewhat hard 2023 but are set up for success in the future. I've also really enjoyed the technical challenges at Handshake. I've grown tremendously in my time here and have been able to work on some projects with really large impact.
Cons: We went through a time where, especially on engineering, there was a lack of trust in leadership. Steps have been made, and are continuing to be made, to improve that. For some, I don't think that trust will be restored. It is very fast-paced and can be high-stress. I personally enjoy this environment, but it is not for everyone.

Flexible, Good Pay, Cutthroat

AI Fellow • Current Employee

San Francisco, California, United States

November 24, 2025

Pros: Flexible, Accommodating, Teamwork, Good pay.

Cons: There can be pressure, and it is cutthroat.

4.0
Flexible, Good Pay, Cutthroat
AI Fellow • Current Employee
San Francisco, California, United States
November 24, 2025
Pros: Flexible, Accommodating, Teamwork, Good pay.
Cons: There can be pressure, and it is cutthroat.

Flexible Work, Inconsistent Pay

Remote AI Trainer • Current Employee

Hartford, Connecticut, United States

November 18, 2025

Pros: The work can be exciting if you like to dissect complicated problems in your field of expertise. Work as many hours, from anywhere, at any time you want. Good entry into the field of data annotation for AI training. The pay can be very high if you work quickly.

Cons: The amount of time you get paid for each task is capped. Therefore, the pay per hour may not be accurate depending on the role you are assigned. Reviewer roles tend to be paid more consistently than fellows due to unrealistic time caps. Also, there are many unpaid components of the job, despite being pretty essential. For example, checking for changes in project requirements (expect very frequent changes) or attending office hours for help.

3.0
Flexible Work, Inconsistent Pay
Remote AI Trainer • Current Employee
Hartford, Connecticut, United States
November 18, 2025
Pros: The work can be exciting if you like to dissect complicated problems in your field of expertise. Work as many hours, from anywhere, at any time you want. Good entry into the field of data annotation for AI training. The pay can be very high if you work quickly.
Cons: The amount of time you get paid for each task is capped. Therefore, the pay per hour may not be accurate depending on the role you are assigned. Reviewer roles tend to be paid more consistently than fellows due to unrealistic time caps. Also, there are many unpaid components of the job, despite being pretty essential. For example, checking for changes in project requirements (expect very frequent changes) or attending office hours for help.

Copyright © Taro