Senior Software Engineer Interview Experience - New York, New York
April 1, 2019
Neutral ExperienceNo Offer
Process
For Customer Care Platform, a large ReactJS (Redux) application, with Go and PHP used alongside for subscriber CRM, reporting to an Engineering Manager. The hiring manager made a 30-minute call which focused on the depth of JS app development, as their entire subscriber admin is built with it. They didn't reply for 8 days before the recruiter said it was a 'no' due to lack of Node.js experience. The description asked for 2 years of generic experience, but the undone code test was in Node.js app development. They need a mid-level JS developer, like everywhere else, and it's a chicken-and-egg problem for them and me both.
Questions
How long have you written JS apps?
Sell me on this job description.
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Interview Statistics
The following metrics were computed from 11 interview experiences for the The New York Times Senior Software Engineer role in New York, New York.
Success Rate
27%
Pass Rate
The New York Times's interview process for their Senior Software Engineer roles in New York, New York is very selective, failing most engineers who go through it.
Experience Rating
Positive45%
Neutral27%
Negative27%
Candidates reported having good feelings for The New York Times's Senior Software Engineer interview process in New York, New York.
The New York Times Work Experiences
4.0
Excellent larger company to work for
Senior Software Engineer • Current Employee
New York, New York, United States
January 17, 2013
Pros: The Times definitely treats its employees pretty well.
They offer good health benefits, compensation, etc.
My only complaint is that there is a good bit of bureaucracy to deal with, which gets tiresome.
From a software engineering perspective, teams are small and projects are interesting.
The choice of tools and methodologies is very wide, and developers have a wide berth.
Cons: Too much bureaucracy. Many "directors" with their hands in the pot. Could be more agile and current in today's market, but making tremendous strides.
3.0
Decent, but highly variable experience depending on your team/manager
Senior Software Engineer • Former Employee
New York, New York, United States
March 16, 2013
Pros: You're furthering a mission that's actually worth something positive for the world.
The technology can be very forward-leaning, depending on the group you're working with.
Nice office space and generally smart co-workers.
Cons: The kind of work you'll get to do can be highly variable in terms of how interesting it is, based on what team you're working with. Of the major IT groups, NYTD probably gets the most interesting work on a day-to-day basis. Be forewarned that some of the middle management are absolutely terrible and can be very demoralizing to work for if you're unlucky enough to land on their team. The higher management is not clueful enough to notice, or worse, doesn't care, that some teams have double-digit annual turnover while others in the same group have zero.
4.0
Pretty good experience overall
Senior Software Engineer • Current Employee
New York, New York, United States
August 14, 2025
Pros: Good tech culture, great people, developers and lower-level management. I actually enjoy working there as a tech specialist. Most of the products we develop in the company are not outdated, and tech debt is not growing significantly. Tech workers unionized recently, and that could help to get more leverage on the way we work.
Cons: Upper management strategy and decisions are not clear for lower-level personnel. "We are not a tech company" is a common reason from management to reject some suggestions or complaints made by tech people. Some strange reorganizations are happening on the tech side as well. Many principal engineer roles are unoccupied now after people resigned or were fired, but the roles are not being fulfilled, neither from hiring nor from promoting.
- 4.0Excellent larger company to work forSenior Software Engineer • Current EmployeeNew York, New York, United StatesJanuary 17, 2013Pros: The Times definitely treats its employees pretty well. They offer good health benefits, compensation, etc. My only complaint is that there is a good bit of bureaucracy to deal with, which gets tiresome. From a software engineering perspective, teams are small and projects are interesting. The choice of tools and methodologies is very wide, and developers have a wide berth.Cons: Too much bureaucracy. Many "directors" with their hands in the pot. Could be more agile and current in today's market, but making tremendous strides.
- 3.0Decent, but highly variable experience depending on your team/managerSenior Software Engineer • Former EmployeeNew York, New York, United StatesMarch 16, 2013Pros: You're furthering a mission that's actually worth something positive for the world. The technology can be very forward-leaning, depending on the group you're working with. Nice office space and generally smart co-workers.Cons: The kind of work you'll get to do can be highly variable in terms of how interesting it is, based on what team you're working with. Of the major IT groups, NYTD probably gets the most interesting work on a day-to-day basis. Be forewarned that some of the middle management are absolutely terrible and can be very demoralizing to work for if you're unlucky enough to land on their team. The higher management is not clueful enough to notice, or worse, doesn't care, that some teams have double-digit annual turnover while others in the same group have zero.
- 4.0Pretty good experience overallSenior Software Engineer • Current EmployeeNew York, New York, United StatesAugust 14, 2025Pros: Good tech culture, great people, developers and lower-level management. I actually enjoy working there as a tech specialist. Most of the products we develop in the company are not outdated, and tech debt is not growing significantly. Tech workers unionized recently, and that could help to get more leverage on the way we work.Cons: Upper management strategy and decisions are not clear for lower-level personnel. "We are not a tech company" is a common reason from management to reject some suggestions or complaints made by tech people. Some strange reorganizations are happening on the tech side as well. Many principal engineer roles are unoccupied now after people resigned or were fired, but the roles are not being fulfilled, neither from hiring nor from promoting.
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