Headspace

Software Engineer Interview Experience - United States

June 1, 2025

Negative ExperienceNo Offer

Process

Phone screen: Recruiter was a bit late, but otherwise this was a pretty standard phone screen. However, the recruiter mentioned that the job posting was no longer accurate in terms of in-office expectations, which was disappointing.

2nd round: Karat interview, which hopefully I’ll never do again. The interviewer was only focused on moving quickly through the process and clearly wasn’t paying attention to what I was doing, which I found distracting.

Questions

Basic REST API questions and some LeetCode problems on the easier side.

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Interview Statistics

The following metrics were computed from 9 interview experiences for the Headspace Software Engineer role in United States.

Success Rate

0%

Pass Rate

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

Experience Rating

Positive33%

Neutral11%

Negative56%

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

Headspace Work Experiences

Bait and switch

Software Engineer • Former Employee

Pros: It used to be a great place to work, with great perks and empathetic co-workers. There used to be 4.5-day workweeks (every other Friday off) and remote work focused around some core hours. However, other than some lovely folks working there, these perks are no more.

Cons: Incredibly disorganized with no clear pathway to profitability. Mass benefit cuts, but no increase in pay. The 4.5-day workweeks are gone, and the CEO just announced RTO with no clear justification. Poor work-life balance and huge amounts of technical debt. They claim they have achieved recent profitability, but it's only because of mass cost reduction through layoffs, people leaving, and outsourcing.

Bait and switch

Software Engineer • Former Employee

Pros: It used to be a great place to work, with great perks and empathetic co-workers. There used to be 4.5-day workweeks (every other Friday off) and remote work focused around some core hours. However, other than some lovely folks working there, these perks are no more.

Cons: Incredibly disorganized with no clear pathway to profitability. Mass benefit cuts, but no increase in pay. The 4.5-day workweeks are gone, and the CEO just announced RTO with no clear justification. Poor work-life balance and huge amounts of technical debt. They claim they have achieved recent profitability, but it's only because of mass cost reduction through layoffs, people leaving, and outsourcing.

Great Mentors, Broken Culture

Software Engineer • Former Employee

February 26, 2025

Pros: The people. My mentors at Headspace were some of the best engineers I've worked with in my career.

Cons: This used to be a company that cared about the mental health of its employees. That ended when the board hired a CEO from DoorDash, of all places. Multiple rounds of layoffs (including laying off people who were out on parental leave), halting employer contributions to 401ks, taking away Fridays off, cutting Forma benefits, dismantling DEI initiatives, on top of no promotions or compensation raises – not even to keep up with inflation – all resulted in a severely demotivated and understaffed workforce.

Great Mentors, Broken Culture

Software Engineer • Former Employee

February 26, 2025

Pros: The people. My mentors at Headspace were some of the best engineers I've worked with in my career.

Cons: This used to be a company that cared about the mental health of its employees. That ended when the board hired a CEO from DoorDash, of all places. Multiple rounds of layoffs (including laying off people who were out on parental leave), halting employer contributions to 401ks, taking away Fridays off, cutting Forma benefits, dismantling DEI initiatives, on top of no promotions or compensation raises – not even to keep up with inflation – all resulted in a severely demotivated and understaffed workforce.

Motivational Company, Active Work

Software Engineer • Former Employee

London, England, United Kingdom

December 12, 2023

Pros: Visionary company with positive and motivational.

Cons: An always active, working environment that brings out the best from employees.

Motivational Company, Active Work

Software Engineer • Former Employee

London, England, United Kingdom

December 12, 2023

Pros: Visionary company with positive and motivational.

Cons: An always active, working environment that brings out the best from employees.

Bait and switch

Software Engineer • Former Employee

Pros: It used to be a great place to work, with great perks and empathetic co-workers. There used to be 4.5-day workweeks (every other Friday off) and remote work focused around some core hours. However, other than some lovely folks working there, these perks are no more.

Cons: Incredibly disorganized with no clear pathway to profitability. Mass benefit cuts, but no increase in pay. The 4.5-day workweeks are gone, and the CEO just announced RTO with no clear justification. Poor work-life balance and huge amounts of technical debt. They claim they have achieved recent profitability, but it's only because of mass cost reduction through layoffs, people leaving, and outsourcing.

2.0
Bait and switch
Software Engineer • Former Employee
July 16, 2025
Pros: It used to be a great place to work, with great perks and empathetic co-workers. There used to be 4.5-day workweeks (every other Friday off) and remote work focused around some core hours. However, other than some lovely folks working there, these perks are no more.
Cons: Incredibly disorganized with no clear pathway to profitability. Mass benefit cuts, but no increase in pay. The 4.5-day workweeks are gone, and the CEO just announced RTO with no clear justification. Poor work-life balance and huge amounts of technical debt. They claim they have achieved recent profitability, but it's only because of mass cost reduction through layoffs, people leaving, and outsourcing.

Great Mentors, Broken Culture

Software Engineer • Former Employee

February 26, 2025

Pros: The people. My mentors at Headspace were some of the best engineers I've worked with in my career.

Cons: This used to be a company that cared about the mental health of its employees. That ended when the board hired a CEO from DoorDash, of all places. Multiple rounds of layoffs (including laying off people who were out on parental leave), halting employer contributions to 401ks, taking away Fridays off, cutting Forma benefits, dismantling DEI initiatives, on top of no promotions or compensation raises – not even to keep up with inflation – all resulted in a severely demotivated and understaffed workforce.

1.0
Great Mentors, Broken Culture
Software Engineer • Former Employee
February 26, 2025
Pros: The people. My mentors at Headspace were some of the best engineers I've worked with in my career.
Cons: This used to be a company that cared about the mental health of its employees. That ended when the board hired a CEO from DoorDash, of all places. Multiple rounds of layoffs (including laying off people who were out on parental leave), halting employer contributions to 401ks, taking away Fridays off, cutting Forma benefits, dismantling DEI initiatives, on top of no promotions or compensation raises – not even to keep up with inflation – all resulted in a severely demotivated and understaffed workforce.

Motivational Company, Active Work

Software Engineer • Former Employee

London, England, United Kingdom

December 12, 2023

Pros: Visionary company with positive and motivational.

Cons: An always active, working environment that brings out the best from employees.

4.0
Motivational Company, Active Work
Software Engineer • Former Employee
London, England, United Kingdom
December 12, 2023
Pros: Visionary company with positive and motivational.
Cons: An always active, working environment that brings out the best from employees.

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