Process
The interview process was lengthy. It included a conversation with a recruiter, followed by a technical screen, and then a full day of interviews with team members and Netflix leadership.
Netflix still uses whiteboard questions that have little bearing on actual engineering skill. Instead, they assess your ability to solve arbitrary puzzles on the spot.
While Netflix emphasizes its culture, the interview process is biased toward individuals who think in a specific way. This can lead to less innovation and outside-the-box brainstorming within teams.
I have previously worked at companies with similar hiring processes and opted to decline Netflix's offer, as I have no desire to work in such an environment.
Questions
Both the question in the initial phone screen and the questions asked later felt like the interviewers went to LeetCode or a similar platform and just selected something at random. I doubt my answers gave them any real insight into how well I would perform as an engineer at a company like Netflix with their complicated API systems.
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Interview Statistics
The following metrics were computed from 96 interview experiences for the Netflix Senior Software Engineer role in United States.
Success Rate
Netflix's interview process for their Senior Software Engineer roles in the United States is extremely selective, failing the vast majority of engineers.
Experience Rating
Candidates reported having mixed feelings for Netflix's Senior Software Engineer interview process in United States.
Netflix Work Experiences
- 5.0Strong culture and pay, but growth is stallingSenior Software Engineer • Current EmployeeLos Gatos, CASeptember 1, 2026Pros: Good culture, smart colleagues, and good pay.Cons: Business growth is stalling, and I'm not sure what leadership is doing to solve this.
- 2.0Highly Political Company with Mediocre Middle-ManagementSenior Software Engineer • Former EmployeeJune 30, 2022Pros: The pay when all engineers were senior engineers was higher than most other companies. Most co-workers in the earlier Cloud days were great engineers and extremely helpful.Cons: There is a great deal of politics between Engineering orgs and even within engineering teams. Even with obviously outstanding performance, failing to play politics well will leave you unrewarded, while others with more political savvy will be rewarded for no work at all. Ultimately, the manager is free to be biased for or against employees for any reason at all. Engineering managers in some orgs tend to be non-technical, only doing project management. Although some non-technical managers might still be good managers, there are some that are horrible, with poor project management skills, and who don't even know what is happening in their own team. Those managers tend to be employed at Netflix for many years. There is no career development support here. It's unlikely that the current management will do any more as new (lower) engineering levels are added. As for the 360 review, it's best to avoid giving significant negative feedback as it makes co-workers defensive. Everyone is afraid of anything negative that can lead to them being fired. HR and management advice on 360 reviews is unrealistic and self-serving. It only helps management since some managers don't know what's happening on their own teams. Ultimately, Netflix is a large company where experiences will differ, depending on which team and organization you work in. If you change teams or managers a few times, though, you'll encounter highly toxic situations. For new mid-level prospective employees, avoid Netflix since the lower pay is likely not worth the extreme politics and toxicity.
- 5.0Great place to work if you can keep upSenior Software Engineer • Current EmployeeLos Gatos, California, United StatesMay 15, 2017Pros: You have a lot of autonomy in technical decisions. It's a very respectful place to work. Racism/sexism is not tolerated. Really no barriers to getting things done. If you have a great solution to a problem, you can roll with it.Cons: That same autonomy can make getting consensus on technical choices more complicated.
Netflix Interview Questions
