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Senior Software Engineer Interview Experience - Canada

September 1, 2024
Positive ExperienceGot Offer

Process

I was referred by a friend, who is an Eng Manager there. He submitted my resume in the process of referring me to the role, which includes suggesting a level of seniority (C6 in my case).

Their interview process for Senior Eng has 4 stages as of Sept 2024:

  • Assessment: Basic online screening which asks some personality/values-related questions and then some IQ-test-style logic/math questions.
  • Pair Programming 1: A 75-minute online session with a Staff Eng where you work through a problem. In my case, the problem was given to me verbally. It was a problem described by others here. My pro tip is to take advantage of the fact that Shopify allows you to use AI tools. I used Copilot to radically speed up the coding. I was able to describe the requirements in pseudocode, and Copilot did 90% of the implementation. We were able to get to a few further stages of the problem, and the interviewer was evidently happy with the way I approached the solution. It was much better than the other coding tests I've done. Be prepared to write simple unit tests of your solution.
  • Life Story: Not as much a full life story as it would appear; it is fairly focused on your more recent roles professionally. This is an hour-long online conversation with a senior recruiter. They are also interested in aspects of your life that aren't work, like hobbies. They're looking to see that you have a growth mindset, I think. I would emphasize aspects of your life path that align with the company's values. For example, I talked about starting a small business, and one of their core missions is serving entrepreneurs.
  • Technical Deep Dive/Pair Programming 2: I prepared a few slides to describe some of the more interesting aspects of my last big project. Bear in mind that it's a 1-hour conversation and not a presentation, so be prepared with material but don't expect to cover everything – let the conversation flow. The second Pair Programming is identical in format to the first, with a different problem. My problem was also described by others here.

Overall, I was very happy with this interview process. It was respectful of my time and took into account more than just my technical expertise. I was delighted to get a job offer and will be starting work in a few weeks.

Questions

How would you test this?

(In reference to the solution you put together in the pair programming session)

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Interview Statistics

The following metrics were computed from 32 interview experiences for the Shopify Senior Software Engineer role in Canada.

Success Rate

19%
Pass Rate

Shopify's interview process for their Senior Software Engineer roles in Canada is very selective, failing most engineers who go through it.

Experience Rating

Positive44%
Neutral9%
Negative47%

Candidates reported having mixed feelings for Shopify's Senior Software Engineer interview process in Canada.

Shopify Work Experiences