Staff Engineer Interview Experience - San Francisco, California
October 8, 2021
Positive ExperienceGot Offer
Process
I applied online. The process took 4 weeks.
The recruitment process is:
- fast
- effective
- friendly
- genuine I had the opportunity to meet people at many levels in the company and, without exception, I enjoyed every meeting.
Questions
System Design Question: about logging within a data centre.
A good exploration of the pros/cons of different approaches with a problem that doesn't have just one correct answer.
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Interview Statistics
The following metrics were computed from 1 interview experience for the Kong Staff Engineer role in San Francisco, California.
Success Rate
0%
Pass Rate
Kong's interview process for their Staff Engineer roles in San Francisco, California is extremely selective, failing the vast majority of engineers.
Experience Rating
Positive100%
Neutral0%
Negative0%
Candidates reported having very good feelings for Kong's Staff Engineer interview process in San Francisco, California.
Kong Work Experiences
4.0
Great Onboarding/Great Team
Staff Engineer • Former Employee
September 25, 2025
Pros: - Technology is interesting
- Lots of opportunity to have an impact
- Clear career path
- People, people, people!
Cons: - Like any startup, sometimes internal information is hard to find without asking a number of people.
- Not a con for me, but it is more of a startup environment, so at times, a fine-tuned process may not exist, so you may need to build, contribute, or advocate for.
3.0
Good pay and benefits
Engineer • Former Employee
February 15, 2022
Pros: Pay, benefits, unlimited PTO, flexible hours
Cons: No 401k matching, chaotic, little cross-team communication
1.0
Flexible hours and good pay hindered by poor management
Test Engineer • Former Employee
June 18, 2026
Pros: Working hours are flexible, the pay is pretty good, and commuting is convenient.
Cons: The management is really poor. The test supervisor got a bunch of entry-level certificates and started misleading everyone.
- 4.0Great Onboarding/Great TeamStaff Engineer • Former EmployeeSeptember 25, 2025Pros: - Technology is interesting - Lots of opportunity to have an impact - Clear career path - People, people, people!Cons: - Like any startup, sometimes internal information is hard to find without asking a number of people. - Not a con for me, but it is more of a startup environment, so at times, a fine-tuned process may not exist, so you may need to build, contribute, or advocate for.
- 3.0Good pay and benefitsEngineer • Former EmployeeFebruary 15, 2022Pros: Pay, benefits, unlimited PTO, flexible hoursCons: No 401k matching, chaotic, little cross-team communication
- 1.0Flexible hours and good pay hindered by poor managementTest Engineer • Former EmployeeJune 18, 2026Pros: Working hours are flexible, the pay is pretty good, and commuting is convenient.Cons: The management is really poor. The test supervisor got a bunch of entry-level certificates and started misleading everyone.
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