Software Engineer Interview Experience - Austin, Texas
November 1, 2022
Positive ExperienceNo Offer
Process
Recruiter call
Tech screen:
- Asked a React question; built a little game.
Passed to on-site (5 rounds):
- Rd 1: System Design. The question was made up on the spot based on my experiences, making it hard to get defined answers.
- Rd 2: Technical. JS exercise around promises.
- Rd 3: Q&A; no feedback was taken during this round.
- Rd 4: System Design. Designed part of Snapchat.
- Rd 5: Tech Exercise around string encoding and bite-size.
Everyone was really kind and professional. The interviews were a bit ad hoc, which I both appreciated and disliked (they felt relevant and customized to me, but they were much less organized).
The recruiter was the best I’ve ever had.
They announced a mandatory RTO as well.
Got middling feedback two days after the last round; no offer. Pretty sure I lost it on communication abilities to discern information. I wish I would’ve spoken slower and listened more.
Questions
Why snap?
Describe a time you made a big difference.
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Interview Statistics
The following metrics were computed from 1 interview experience for the Snap Software Engineer role in Austin, Texas.
Success Rate
0%
Pass Rate
Snap's interview process for their Software Engineer roles in Austin, Texas is extremely selective, failing the vast majority of engineers.
Experience Rating
Positive100%
Neutral0%
Negative0%
Candidates reported having very good feelings for Snap's Software Engineer interview process in Austin, Texas.
Snap Work Experiences
5.0
Awesome company. Loving the direction and vision!
Software Engineer • Current Employee
Venice, California, United States
September 27, 2016
Pros: - We're located right on the beach!
- There's free food with two cafeterias, and restaurants around work are free too.
- Salary is on par with SF/Bay Area companies.
- Equity package is solid but strongly incentivizes you to stay for 4 years. This is a pro (very low turnover ratio, and coworkers are all very involved in the success of the company) and a con (you lose out on equity if you leave early).
Cons: Offices are spread out, you sometimes need to walk 10 minutes between them.
Equity package has a backloaded vesting schedule, so you have to stay 4 years for the full benefit.
1.0
Fast Pace, Toxic Culture
Software Engineer • Former Employee
San Francisco, California, United States
April 25, 2017
Pros: Able to work at a fairly rapid pace, though this came at the cost of not writing tests and peer reviews consisted of people just scanning the code. Compensation is fair considering the market.
Cons: Work/life balance: We are regularly reminded that we're expected to come back online to work after dinner. God help you if your Hipchat dot isn't green. Weekends and working into the morning are a regular thing.
Culture: It's said that a company's true culture is defined by those they reward and promote, as opposed to what they tout. And it's evident that Snap values managers who bully and intimidate to motivate their team and robots that blindly follow.
Feedback system: Snap has no concept of reviews for peers or for management, so they stay oblivious to problems (perhaps willingly).
Code quality: Peer reviews generally consist of someone scanning the code, not running it. No tests are written. This results in bugs slipping through to production apps.
Unfortunately, these issues seem to come from the top down; they are rooted deeply in the culture of Snap. Leaving Snap was like finally leaving an abusive relationship.
3.0
Fun but chaotic
Software Engineer • Current Employee
Santa Monica, California, United States
October 31, 2022
Pros: Comp was a product engineer. It was so cool to iterate on a fun app that I personally had used since 2014.
Cons: Evan (CEO/founder) doesn't really understand how to pivot Snapchat as it faces multiple headwinds, including Friend Story engagement declining and monetization issues with ATT. The promotion bar is high because L4 is a wide band.
- 5.0Awesome company. Loving the direction and vision!Software Engineer • Current EmployeeVenice, California, United StatesSeptember 27, 2016Pros: - We're located right on the beach! - There's free food with two cafeterias, and restaurants around work are free too. - Salary is on par with SF/Bay Area companies. - Equity package is solid but strongly incentivizes you to stay for 4 years. This is a pro (very low turnover ratio, and coworkers are all very involved in the success of the company) and a con (you lose out on equity if you leave early).Cons: Offices are spread out, you sometimes need to walk 10 minutes between them. Equity package has a backloaded vesting schedule, so you have to stay 4 years for the full benefit.
- 1.0Fast Pace, Toxic CultureSoftware Engineer • Former EmployeeSan Francisco, California, United StatesApril 25, 2017Pros: Able to work at a fairly rapid pace, though this came at the cost of not writing tests and peer reviews consisted of people just scanning the code. Compensation is fair considering the market.Cons: Work/life balance: We are regularly reminded that we're expected to come back online to work after dinner. God help you if your Hipchat dot isn't green. Weekends and working into the morning are a regular thing. Culture: It's said that a company's true culture is defined by those they reward and promote, as opposed to what they tout. And it's evident that Snap values managers who bully and intimidate to motivate their team and robots that blindly follow. Feedback system: Snap has no concept of reviews for peers or for management, so they stay oblivious to problems (perhaps willingly). Code quality: Peer reviews generally consist of someone scanning the code, not running it. No tests are written. This results in bugs slipping through to production apps. Unfortunately, these issues seem to come from the top down; they are rooted deeply in the culture of Snap. Leaving Snap was like finally leaving an abusive relationship.
- 3.0Fun but chaoticSoftware Engineer • Current EmployeeSanta Monica, California, United StatesOctober 31, 2022Pros: Comp was a product engineer. It was so cool to iterate on a fun app that I personally had used since 2014.Cons: Evan (CEO/founder) doesn't really understand how to pivot Snapchat as it faces multiple headwinds, including Friend Story engagement declining and monetization issues with ATT. The promotion bar is high because L4 is a wide band.
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