I applied directly on Quora's career page and heard back within a week. I spoke with the recruiter and had two phone screens before coming in – one with the hiring manager and one with an engineer.

The on-site, I think, had 5 rounds to it, IIRC. Pretty standard DS&A, design, domain knowledge, and talking about previous experiences. The interviewers were some of the best I've ever encountered. They really were interested in my thought process – it wasn't about having memorized the answer. They truly wanted to see you try to get to an answer and the journey you take. I would not have gotten an offer if they only cared about the optimal solution, like other companies in the area do.

I believe that Quora has the best combination of brilliant, humble, and genuine engineers I've ever seen. Usually, on an on-site, there is at least one person that rubs you the wrong way. I didn't meet anyone like that at Quora, and it really stood out to me as something incredibly rare.

Unfortunately, I declined the offer from Quora because I was given an offer elsewhere that I couldn't turn down. Quora's compensation is top-notch; they also don't play negotiation games, which was very appreciated. It was a very hard decision to make, and I still wonder if I made the right one. I fully believe in the product, the mission, and the team.

Common DS&A. Design questions.