Principal Software Engineer Interview Experience - New York, New York
Process
A brief screening conversation with a recruiter followed by an hour-long technical grill from a principal engineer with zero feedback.
The process was entirely automated through Greenhouse with literally no human conversation outside of the interviews. All of my responses to the machine's "excitement" to move forward were met with silence.
The technical grill session with the principal engineer was a series of 20-30 questions asked in succession with no feedback or resemblance of a human conversation. I could have been talking with a robot for all I knew.
Over a week later, I received a rejection letter packaged as an ad from their partnered recruiting platform. Somehow, they believe selling my data to a third party makes the pill taste sweeter.
All in all, the process was the worst in class – a fever dream of the worst possible experiences one can achieve on the web.
Questions
It took the company so long to render their rejection letter that I can't recall a single question.
Was this helpful?
Interview Statistics
The following metrics were computed from 2 interview experiences for the OpenTable Principal Software Engineer role in New York, New York.
Success Rate
OpenTable's interview process for their Principal Software Engineer roles in New York, New York is extremely selective, failing the vast majority of engineers.
Experience Rating
Candidates reported having very negative feelings for OpenTable's Principal Software Engineer interview process in New York, New York.
OpenTable Work Experiences
- 1.0Terrible leadership that tore down the great culturePrincipal Software Engineer • Current EmployeeSan Francisco, CAJuly 19, 2025Pros: Prior to Debby, OpenTable was a fantastic company to work for.Cons: Debby and Sagar have ruined morale with their leadership. They love creating a false sense of urgency and a blame culture. Don’t believe all these fake reviews that praise the company.
- 5.0Best companyPrincipal Software Engineer • Current EmployeeLos Angeles, CAApril 24, 2019Pros: Compensation is one of the highest in the Los Angeles area, and work-life balance is amazing, while technology is state of the art.Cons: None that I can think of.
- 1.0Strong product but toxic leadership and culture shiftPrincipal Software Engineer • Current EmployeeSan Francisco, CAAugust 30, 2026Pros: The core product is historically strong and remains genuinely fun to work on.Cons: Hostile C-Suite: A sharp culture shift under CEO Debby Soo caused a mass exodus of top talent. When confronted about the turnover at an All-Hands meeting, her response was a profanity-laced dismissal of the departing staff. The Executive Clique: The CEO filled leadership gaps by hiring her personal friends. The upper ranks now function as an unprofessional, insular echo chamber where personal loyalty trumps competence. Retaliatory Tech Leadership: Under CTO Sagar, managers are empowered to push out anyone who doesn't blindly agree with them. Dissenting opinions on product direction or minor mistakes are met with outright firing or being quietly placed in dead-end, undesirable roles until you quit. Nearshoring Over Retention: Rather than fixing the toxic environment, the company is using the high turnover as a cost-saving measure. Experienced staff who leave or are forced out are systematically replaced by lower-cost labor in Mexico and Canada. Stagnant Compensation: In 2026, a staggering 70% of the company did not receive raises, further signaling leadership's complete disregard for employee retention, morale, and fair compensation.
