Senior Software Engineer Interview Experience - San Francisco, California
April 1, 2014
Negative ExperienceNo Offer
Process
I applied to the job online. The very next day, I exchanged a few emails with the interview coordinator. The next day, I had a personal interview with their recruiting manager. An informal interview was set up with one of their engineers the very next day. I felt the interviewer was more interested in showing off his knowledge than anything else, and he really just convinced me not to work for Twilio.
Questions
The engineer asked very specific questions about SIP. The questions were very specific, and the interviewer kept insisting on asking questions about things I worked on seven years ago and expected me to remember every detail. A few of the questions were straight-up stupid, like: What are the similarities between UDP and TCP?
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Interview Statistics
The following metrics were computed from 6 interview experiences for the Twilio Senior Software Engineer role in San Francisco, California.
Success Rate
67%
Pass Rate
Twilio's interview process for their Senior Software Engineer roles in San Francisco, California is incredibly easy as the vast majority of engineers get an offer after going through it.
Experience Rating
Positive33%
Neutral17%
Negative50%
Candidates reported having negative feelings for Twilio's Senior Software Engineer interview process in San Francisco, California.
Twilio Work Experiences
4.0
Used to be great
Senior Software Engineer • Current Employee
San Francisco, California, United States
November 7, 2019
Pros: CEO knows what he's doing, business-wise.
Support for remote work (WFH for locals, fully remote for select positions).
Cons: Lots of growth and associated pain.
Current management has a very top-down mentality, dictating stuff that should be left to teams and treating team members as fungible commodities they can just move around on a chessboard.
Trying to save money by focusing on very junior hires and hiring in places like Estonia and India (moratorium on US hiring).
Focus on junior devs means senior devs have to spend all their time mentoring and aren't able to be Individual Contributors, which is unsatisfying for many and leads to pretty crappy code.
4.0
Great Culture, Lacking Accountability
Senior Software Engineer • Current Employee
San Francisco, California, United States
October 24, 2017
Pros: Great, inclusive culture. Lots of fun team events. Direct management cares deeply about our team's personal success.
Cons: Lack of accountability for poor performers.
4.0
Good value here, but you may have to work to find it
Senior Software Engineer • Current Employee
San Francisco, California, United States
January 23, 2019
Pros: Lots of independence and ownership. Smart coworkers. It's your destiny kind of place.
Good compensation, and minimal BS in communication all the way to the top. I've met and worked with some extraordinary people here, and I really value what I've learned from them.
Cons: The first year I worked here, I was ready to quit. I lucked into a change in situation, and now I really like my job.
Working here is very much like participating in the free market: you have to go make your own success and job fit, and there are no safety nets if something goes wrong. However, there are high rewards when you do well if you've managed to find your way into a good team or org.
Overall, I think the risk is worth it because there are lots of good areas. But I hate seeing valuable people wasted on bad management and churn.
- 4.0Used to be greatSenior Software Engineer • Current EmployeeSan Francisco, California, United StatesNovember 7, 2019Pros: CEO knows what he's doing, business-wise. Support for remote work (WFH for locals, fully remote for select positions).Cons: Lots of growth and associated pain. Current management has a very top-down mentality, dictating stuff that should be left to teams and treating team members as fungible commodities they can just move around on a chessboard. Trying to save money by focusing on very junior hires and hiring in places like Estonia and India (moratorium on US hiring). Focus on junior devs means senior devs have to spend all their time mentoring and aren't able to be Individual Contributors, which is unsatisfying for many and leads to pretty crappy code.
- 4.0Great Culture, Lacking AccountabilitySenior Software Engineer • Current EmployeeSan Francisco, California, United StatesOctober 24, 2017Pros: Great, inclusive culture. Lots of fun team events. Direct management cares deeply about our team's personal success.Cons: Lack of accountability for poor performers.
- 4.0Good value here, but you may have to work to find itSenior Software Engineer • Current EmployeeSan Francisco, California, United StatesJanuary 23, 2019Pros: Lots of independence and ownership. Smart coworkers. It's your destiny kind of place. Good compensation, and minimal BS in communication all the way to the top. I've met and worked with some extraordinary people here, and I really value what I've learned from them.Cons: The first year I worked here, I was ready to quit. I lucked into a change in situation, and now I really like my job. Working here is very much like participating in the free market: you have to go make your own success and job fit, and there are no safety nets if something goes wrong. However, there are high rewards when you do well if you've managed to find your way into a good team or org. Overall, I think the risk is worth it because there are lots of good areas. But I hate seeing valuable people wasted on bad management and churn.
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