Pendo

Web Developer Interview Experience - Raleigh, North Carolina

August 1, 2017

Negative ExperienceNo Offer

Process

The interview process consisted of: a phone call pre-screening, a screen share session with a developer, an in-person interview with 3 developers and HR.

While the people at Pendo seemed friendly, both recruiters from HR were extremely unprofessional. Shortly after my in-person interview, I received a phone call with very positive feedback. I was told that I'd receive a follow-up the next day. After nearly two weeks and no follow-up contact from Pendo, I reached out to both recruiters requesting a status update. Several days later, I received an extremely unprofessional phone call from one of the recruiters. She was driving in her car, and told me they'd decided to pass on me. She gave me an extremely ambiguous reason for their decision. When I asked for clarification, she told me she would speak more with the team and follow up with an email. I never received a follow-up email.

If the interview process and my interaction with Pendo's recruiting department is any indicator of how the company operates, I'm glad I didn't receive an offer.

Pendo does have a lot of VC backing but I'm not convinced it's a place you'd want to work.

Questions

Q: Write a JavaScript function to determine whether a word is a palindrome. (Screen-sharing session)

Q: Given two strings, write a function that returns a string containing the characters which the two strings have in common (including duplicates). (in-Person Session)

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Interview Statistics

The following metrics were computed from 1 interview experience for the Pendo Web Developer role in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Success Rate

0%

Pass Rate

Pendo's interview process for their Web Developer roles in Raleigh, North Carolina is extremely selective, failing the vast majority of engineers.

Experience Rating

Positive0%

Neutral0%

Negative100%

Candidates reported having very negative feelings for Pendo's Web Developer interview process in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Pendo Work Experiences

Amazing community

Associate Front End Engineer • Current Employee

Raleigh, North Carolina

September 29, 2022

Pros: An amazing company that really does emphasize and practice their values. The culture is great and is noticeable from day one.

Cons: Only downside is (at least in the engineering dept.) there is not a lot of diversity.

Amazing community

Associate Front End Engineer • Current Employee

Raleigh, North Carolina

September 29, 2022

Pros: An amazing company that really does emphasize and practice their values. The culture is great and is noticeable from day one.

Cons: Only downside is (at least in the engineering dept.) there is not a lot of diversity.

Challenging, fast paced, and rewarding work

Data Engineer • Current Employee

Raleigh, North Carolina

January 27, 2021

Pros: Pendo's people team and leadership really do make it a pleasure to work for Pendo. There is always an opportunity to learn and grow through courses offered or seminars being hosted. Managers have weekly meetings with their reportees, which goes a long way to feeling heard. There is a lot of trust and responsibility passed down to individual contributors. Ownership for a company and customer impacting project can be held by only one person, although usually there is more support. The company culture continues to encourage a healthy work/life balance, meaning no shame for using unlimited time off, no shame for mental health days, and understanding work-from-home challenges. There are crunch periods, but there is not a crunch culture - I've never had the impression from managers or peers that a deadline is more important than capping my day at 10 hours. Pendo is incredibly transparent. Through bi-weekly town halls, there is always clear communication of our financial position, and market challenges and opportunities. That transparency goes a long way to feeling job security, understanding leadership decisions, and believing in the company's strategy.

Cons: Hiring often lags behind the volume of work. Although there is no crunch culture, it can be personally overwhelming to watch a backlog grow for months without a job posting. Structure is still developing. Don't expect an interviewing playbook, job development checklist, or clear lines of promotion. However, it can be exciting to contribute to these processes. There are rapid changes. It takes significant attention to keep on the up-and-up with the changes of each department. If you take your eye off of any one department for 6 months, it is unlikely you'll recognize the people and processes. Change can be exciting, and sometimes overwhelming.

Challenging, fast paced, and rewarding work

Data Engineer • Current Employee

Raleigh, North Carolina

January 27, 2021

Pros: Pendo's people team and leadership really do make it a pleasure to work for Pendo. There is always an opportunity to learn and grow through courses offered or seminars being hosted. Managers have weekly meetings with their reportees, which goes a long way to feeling heard. There is a lot of trust and responsibility passed down to individual contributors. Ownership for a company and customer impacting project can be held by only one person, although usually there is more support. The company culture continues to encourage a healthy work/life balance, meaning no shame for using unlimited time off, no shame for mental health days, and understanding work-from-home challenges. There are crunch periods, but there is not a crunch culture - I've never had the impression from managers or peers that a deadline is more important than capping my day at 10 hours. Pendo is incredibly transparent. Through bi-weekly town halls, there is always clear communication of our financial position, and market challenges and opportunities. That transparency goes a long way to feeling job security, understanding leadership decisions, and believing in the company's strategy.

Cons: Hiring often lags behind the volume of work. Although there is no crunch culture, it can be personally overwhelming to watch a backlog grow for months without a job posting. Structure is still developing. Don't expect an interviewing playbook, job development checklist, or clear lines of promotion. However, it can be exciting to contribute to these processes. There are rapid changes. It takes significant attention to keep on the up-and-up with the changes of each department. If you take your eye off of any one department for 6 months, it is unlikely you'll recognize the people and processes. Change can be exciting, and sometimes overwhelming.

A company in its death throes. Do not work here as an engineer.

Senior Software Engineer • Former Employee

Raleigh, North Carolina

Pros: Good engineers, albeit very junior (even at the senior eng level).

Cons: The shift in engineering focus toward JIRA tickets per employee has massively hurt engineering. Engineers are clearly being seen as interchangeable cogs in the JIRA factory, and so that’s how they’re measured. But good products are made through trust, letting engineers plan and execute projects as they see fit. This shift signals a low-trust environment. It's especially detrimental for actually good engineers who want to focus on meaningful, strategic work rather than being shuffled random tickets. Much of engineering leadership is older than the developer population, and as a result, many implement outdated engineering management techniques that are known to fail. This approach feels like a cry for help, either because they are 1) too lazy to measure productivity and impact in a more nuanced way, or 2) they genuinely believe this will help the company, which is even worse. Promotions often reflect favoritism rather than merit. If you're not in the right circles (like the book club), the path to advancement is unclear and the goalposts shift constantly. Engineering managers in this environment tend to follow orders rather than advocate for their teams or challenge decisions that don’t serve the broader engineering organization.

A company in its death throes. Do not work here as an engineer.

Senior Software Engineer • Former Employee

Raleigh, North Carolina

Pros: Good engineers, albeit very junior (even at the senior eng level).

Cons: The shift in engineering focus toward JIRA tickets per employee has massively hurt engineering. Engineers are clearly being seen as interchangeable cogs in the JIRA factory, and so that’s how they’re measured. But good products are made through trust, letting engineers plan and execute projects as they see fit. This shift signals a low-trust environment. It's especially detrimental for actually good engineers who want to focus on meaningful, strategic work rather than being shuffled random tickets. Much of engineering leadership is older than the developer population, and as a result, many implement outdated engineering management techniques that are known to fail. This approach feels like a cry for help, either because they are 1) too lazy to measure productivity and impact in a more nuanced way, or 2) they genuinely believe this will help the company, which is even worse. Promotions often reflect favoritism rather than merit. If you're not in the right circles (like the book club), the path to advancement is unclear and the goalposts shift constantly. Engineering managers in this environment tend to follow orders rather than advocate for their teams or challenge decisions that don’t serve the broader engineering organization.

Amazing community

Associate Front End Engineer • Current Employee

Raleigh, North Carolina

September 29, 2022

Pros: An amazing company that really does emphasize and practice their values. The culture is great and is noticeable from day one.

Cons: Only downside is (at least in the engineering dept.) there is not a lot of diversity.

5.0
Amazing community
Associate Front End Engineer • Current Employee
Raleigh, North Carolina
September 29, 2022
Pros: An amazing company that really does emphasize and practice their values. The culture is great and is noticeable from day one.
Cons: Only downside is (at least in the engineering dept.) there is not a lot of diversity.

Challenging, fast paced, and rewarding work

Data Engineer • Current Employee

Raleigh, North Carolina

January 27, 2021

Pros: Pendo's people team and leadership really do make it a pleasure to work for Pendo. There is always an opportunity to learn and grow through courses offered or seminars being hosted. Managers have weekly meetings with their reportees, which goes a long way to feeling heard. There is a lot of trust and responsibility passed down to individual contributors. Ownership for a company and customer impacting project can be held by only one person, although usually there is more support. The company culture continues to encourage a healthy work/life balance, meaning no shame for using unlimited time off, no shame for mental health days, and understanding work-from-home challenges. There are crunch periods, but there is not a crunch culture - I've never had the impression from managers or peers that a deadline is more important than capping my day at 10 hours. Pendo is incredibly transparent. Through bi-weekly town halls, there is always clear communication of our financial position, and market challenges and opportunities. That transparency goes a long way to feeling job security, understanding leadership decisions, and believing in the company's strategy.

Cons: Hiring often lags behind the volume of work. Although there is no crunch culture, it can be personally overwhelming to watch a backlog grow for months without a job posting. Structure is still developing. Don't expect an interviewing playbook, job development checklist, or clear lines of promotion. However, it can be exciting to contribute to these processes. There are rapid changes. It takes significant attention to keep on the up-and-up with the changes of each department. If you take your eye off of any one department for 6 months, it is unlikely you'll recognize the people and processes. Change can be exciting, and sometimes overwhelming.

5.0
Challenging, fast paced, and rewarding work
Data Engineer • Current Employee
Raleigh, North Carolina
January 27, 2021
Pros: Pendo's people team and leadership really do make it a pleasure to work for Pendo. There is always an opportunity to learn and grow through courses offered or seminars being hosted. Managers have weekly meetings with their reportees, which goes a long way to feeling heard. There is a lot of trust and responsibility passed down to individual contributors. Ownership for a company and customer impacting project can be held by only one person, although usually there is more support. The company culture continues to encourage a healthy work/life balance, meaning no shame for using unlimited time off, no shame for mental health days, and understanding work-from-home challenges. There are crunch periods, but there is not a crunch culture - I've never had the impression from managers or peers that a deadline is more important than capping my day at 10 hours. Pendo is incredibly transparent. Through bi-weekly town halls, there is always clear communication of our financial position, and market challenges and opportunities. That transparency goes a long way to feeling job security, understanding leadership decisions, and believing in the company's strategy.
Cons: Hiring often lags behind the volume of work. Although there is no crunch culture, it can be personally overwhelming to watch a backlog grow for months without a job posting. Structure is still developing. Don't expect an interviewing playbook, job development checklist, or clear lines of promotion. However, it can be exciting to contribute to these processes. There are rapid changes. It takes significant attention to keep on the up-and-up with the changes of each department. If you take your eye off of any one department for 6 months, it is unlikely you'll recognize the people and processes. Change can be exciting, and sometimes overwhelming.

A company in its death throes. Do not work here as an engineer.

Senior Software Engineer • Former Employee

Raleigh, North Carolina

Pros: Good engineers, albeit very junior (even at the senior eng level).

Cons: The shift in engineering focus toward JIRA tickets per employee has massively hurt engineering. Engineers are clearly being seen as interchangeable cogs in the JIRA factory, and so that’s how they’re measured. But good products are made through trust, letting engineers plan and execute projects as they see fit. This shift signals a low-trust environment. It's especially detrimental for actually good engineers who want to focus on meaningful, strategic work rather than being shuffled random tickets. Much of engineering leadership is older than the developer population, and as a result, many implement outdated engineering management techniques that are known to fail. This approach feels like a cry for help, either because they are 1) too lazy to measure productivity and impact in a more nuanced way, or 2) they genuinely believe this will help the company, which is even worse. Promotions often reflect favoritism rather than merit. If you're not in the right circles (like the book club), the path to advancement is unclear and the goalposts shift constantly. Engineering managers in this environment tend to follow orders rather than advocate for their teams or challenge decisions that don’t serve the broader engineering organization.

1.0
A company in its death throes. Do not work here as an engineer.
Senior Software Engineer • Former Employee
Raleigh, North Carolina
July 30, 2025
Pros: Good engineers, albeit very junior (even at the senior eng level).
Cons: The shift in engineering focus toward JIRA tickets per employee has massively hurt engineering. Engineers are clearly being seen as interchangeable cogs in the JIRA factory, and so that’s how they’re measured. But good products are made through trust, letting engineers plan and execute projects as they see fit. This shift signals a low-trust environment. It's especially detrimental for actually good engineers who want to focus on meaningful, strategic work rather than being shuffled random tickets. Much of engineering leadership is older than the developer population, and as a result, many implement outdated engineering management techniques that are known to fail. This approach feels like a cry for help, either because they are 1) too lazy to measure productivity and impact in a more nuanced way, or 2) they genuinely believe this will help the company, which is even worse. Promotions often reflect favoritism rather than merit. If you're not in the right circles (like the book club), the path to advancement is unclear and the goalposts shift constantly. Engineering managers in this environment tend to follow orders rather than advocate for their teams or challenge decisions that don’t serve the broader engineering organization.

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