The interview process for a Principal Software Engineer role at Splunk Hyderabad was frustrating and disappointing.

The process involved seven rounds of interviews over several weeks:

• Karat live coding
• Problem Solving
• System Design
• Some tech depth and breadth round
• Product manager round
• Hiring Manager Round
• Director Engineering round

This is excessive by any standard and reflects a lack of decisiveness in their hiring practices.

After every interview, the HR team informed me that the feedback was positive and that I was progressing well for the Principal role. However, at the very end, I was offered a lower role (Senior Software Engineer) with a base pay below my current salary. If Splunk felt I wasn’t fit for the Principal role, how did this not surface earlier in the process? Their inability to align expectations at the outset wasted both my time and theirs.

This experience also raises concerns about Splunk’s internal culture. If they approach hiring with this level of indecisiveness and poor communication, it reflects a broader issue in how they operate internally. In hindsight, it feels like I dodged a bullet.

I would strongly advise candidates, especially for senior roles, to approach opportunities at Splunk with caution. Ensure you get clarity upfront about the role, compensation, and process, as my experience showed a clear lack of transparency and respect for candidates’ time and expertise.

Design Instagram like a system that is highly scalable.

Product Manager, Hiring Manager, and Director rounds all deal with behavioral questions. So much redundancy.