Process
I applied online.
I interviewed with Kong for a Senior SWE position. The entire process took 3 weeks. The entire interview loop was: 30 min recruiter chat around why Kong, what you want at your next role 1 hour chat with the hiring manager talking about my previous experiences. 2 phone screens, 1 hour each, one coding and one around low level OS concepts, networking, containerization.
Onsite was 2 coding rounds of 1 hour each 1 system design interview of an hour 1 deep dive around technical knowledge 1 VP round, 30 mins The folks I interviewed with were good to talk to, and knew what they were talking about. Now comes the best part, they said they wanna move ahead with the offer. The recruiter quoted me a number and a level (which I was interviewing for) Then in the next call, I receive the good news that I am being down leveled to SWE but the pay remains the same. I was fine with that knowing that I will make up that gap for sure in little time.
Next I had a hiring manager chat to know what the expectations from a Sr SWE are and what is the path that I would take to move into that direction. Very little was offered in terms of the actual plan, only we will make that plan once you join. Another bit of good news on this call was that my offer was being reduced to be in line with my new title.
Then came the joining bonus discussion stage, which was peanuts compared to a normal joining bonus (not talking about higher 50s - 90s) in the SF area. My main reason for walking away was this entire process made me feel very unwelcome. From the down leveling, to reducing the pay, and the whole underhandedness of the whole process was, to say the least, very off putting. The interview loop was not to assess what I bring to the table, it was only about if I am eligible to be near the table. And then, the company somehow decides my worth and then renegades on their earlier decision. I felt passionately about the product, and I liked the people I was going to work with. But this process was very unwelcoming.
The things that they pulled even before me joining, make me wonder, what would they do once I join, since at that time my options are even less. In retrospect, I think they just wanted to keep me around until my other offer expired after which I would come to the table with no leverage. In any case, it just felt like it was wrong of them to treat prospective candidates this way.
Questions
The interview included Golang questions and 1 LC medium.
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Interview Statistics
The following metrics were computed from 13 interview experiences for the Kong Senior Software Engineer role.
Success Rate
Kong's interview process for their Senior Software Engineer roles is very selective, failing most engineers who go through it.
Experience Rating
Candidates reported having mixed feelings for Kong's Senior Software Engineer interview process.
Kong Work Experiences
- 5.0Working at KongSenior Software Engineer • Former EmployeeJuly 14, 2023Pros: Great work. Very challenging sometimes, but learning a lot. Proper mix of SaaS and deep systems tech. Very nice culture, I feel empowered. People are helpful and happy to help out. Product strategy makes sense and company has been seeing great growth.Cons: Can't think of any right now.
- 5.0Exciting fast paced environmentSenior Software Engineer • Former EmployeeDecember 2, 2022Pros: A lot of things are happening and there are many opportunities to learn new technologies. It is also very nice to have the opportunity to contribute back to the Open Source community.Cons: The bar is quite high.
- 5.0A view from the insideSenior Software Engineer • Former EmployeeJuly 13, 2023Pros: I've been in the software development industry for ~10 years now, having worked the past 3 here at Kong. I love the work I do and the products we create, but more than anything I love the culture and sense of community here. I've been here during the gravy chain period and through the tough parts more recently due to the economy (which was handled with solemnity, respect, and compassion), but I'm grateful to be able to say that I always felt like Kong cared about its employees (myself included). Prior to working at Kong, I worked at a tech giant for 7 years. I learned a lot, but my mental health suffered from being just another number, feeling underused and undervalued. Coming to Kong was life changing for me. My opinions are valued here - and even if people don't agree with my view, I have no doubt that I was at least heard and my opinion was taken into consideration. My contributions are noticed and acknowledged. It's more than that though, Kong makes me feel "safe". I never have to worry about being made to feel ignorant or small. I normally wouldn't bother saying this, but after seeing the mentions about "bullying" and "boys clubs" in other posts, I'm going to straight out say I'm female and part of the LGBT+ community and I have never witnessed a single instance of bullying or bias. Kong is extremely inclusive to people from all different backgrounds - I don't know what the other posters have experienced, but I have not seen ANYTHING but acceptance and people willing to bend over backwards to make sure they haven't offended anyone. When I need help, I can confidently reach out to any other Konger and ask them for help and know I'll be treated with respect and kindness; and this reaches all the way from the newest new hire to the oldest OG Konger who was still around when it was called Mashape. That culture is hugely important to me and the company recognizes its value and works hard to protect it. I'm part of the interview flow for a few different teams and I've seen plenty of very intelligent, hard working applicants passed over because there was concern about how it would affect the team's synergy or if they would be able to truly embrace the GRUCEO values and to me that says a lot about management. It's not just about the bottom line, it's about the happiness and productivity of each existing employee too. Beyond culture, I can confidently say that I've learned more working here at Kong in 3 years than I did the entire 7 years that I worked at the tech giant. Kong moves fast and there are always opportunities to grow and spread into new areas of interest. The theme for 2023 was Accelerate and we've been taking on more big projects more quickly, we're a fail fast company, but despite the speed we move at I always feel proud of the product we turn out - we don't sacrifice quality. All in all, I am passionate about Kong and the values it stands for and I'm proud to be a Konger. I care about my work, about the commitments our team makes, how the product I work on reflects on Kong, and how our customers benefit from our products. The only thing I could say about the tech giant was that I was loyal and dedicated to turning out a solid product due to my own standards - there was no passion.Cons: There are difficulties that come from having such a large number of employees working remotely. I feel like there are places to improve on our remote culture - ways to make employees feel more connected to each other. This isn't a problem unique to Kong, best practices are still being figured out.
