The recruiter reached out, and we had a decent conversation. I then received an invitation for a tech screen interview with no specific details. It stated "problem solving" but lacked a link to a virtual whiteboard or collaborative coding tool. I attempted to clarify this with the recruiter, who responded that it was literally a remote problem-solving interview conducted via email.

I prepared for either scenario, utilizing open-source online tools. However, the interview turned out to be a system design interview. The interviewer appeared to be a relatively new manager. He did not ask for an introduction and immediately presented a design question. I began by outlining requirements, but he interrupted and asked me to jump directly to implementation. This was unusual, but I followed his direction. After about 10 minutes, we circled back to discussing requirements.

He frequently interrupted me and then stated he wanted the conversation to be collaborative.

Overall, I believe I could have performed better, and that is on me. However, if I had been able to fully address the requirements first, I am confident I would have performed better than I did.

For context, I sometimes conduct up to four interviews per week and never interrupt a candidate's thought process, regardless of their seniority. I also typically do not interview candidates ranked above me, which is usually how company processes are structured. I have interviewed with approximately five other enterprises and have had positive outcomes in each instance.

I believe Shopify can improve its end-to-end interview process, from recruiter training to the selection of eligible candidates for interviews.

Implicitly, they provided no feedback when I inquired about it.

Design a 2-factor authentication system where you send the code via email. No text, SMS, authenticator app, or a physical device is required.