Staff Data Engineer Interview Experience - San Francisco, California
Process
The interview process focused entirely on coding ability and system design. There were no interviews about product focus or culture beyond that.
The interview was entirely remote, even for a hybrid position.
I spoke with the hiring manager, then completed a coding assessment, followed by a virtual onsite interview.
The coding questions were LeetCode easy-medium level.
Questions
Are you familiar with [insert their tech stack]? They were looking for Spark, Flink, Iceberg, etc.
During the virtual onsite:
What was the most technically complex project that you have led and implemented?
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Interview Statistics
The following metrics were computed from 1 interview experience for the Rippling Staff Data Engineer role in San Francisco, California.
Success Rate
Rippling's interview process for their Staff Data Engineer roles in San Francisco, California is extremely selective, failing the vast majority of engineers.
Experience Rating
Candidates reported having very good feelings for Rippling's Staff Data Engineer interview process in San Francisco, California.
Rippling Work Experiences
- 2.0Unstaffed, chaotic, bad WLBSenior Software Engineer • Current EmployeeSan Francisco, California, United StatesNovember 22, 2025Pros: Decent pay. ARR is growing very quickly. Lots of opportunities.Cons: Requires long hours. Chaotic environment. Doesn't feel like our leaders are aligned on the strategy for our products. You get punished for working on improving quality instead of shipping more. Poor benefits.
- 4.0Growth And Ownership, SlowingSoftware Engineer • Former EmployeeSan Francisco, California, United StatesOctober 16, 2025Pros: Lots of room for growth and ownership. Great manager.Cons: Seems to be slowing down a bit.
- 4.0Mixed bag reviewSoftware Engineer • Current EmployeeSan Francisco, California, United StatesAugust 13, 2025Pros: Lots of opportunity to learn how a company grows, take ownership, and translate work into results. Room to grow in your career quickly. Pay is pretty good. Good exposure to former founders if you're looking to do that in the future.Cons: Unrealistic deadlines cause quality to take a backseat in lieu of shipping fast. Some people have a pessimistic attitude and think the company is toxic, and this sentiment spreads. The bureaucracy and politics of a fast-growing company can be annoying. Managers will take credit for things, micromanage, and don't know how to push back on execs or manage up. This could be solved by learning how to manage up yourself.
Rippling Interview Questions
