Process
I applied online. The process took 2 weeks.
For the live-coding exercise, I was given a lot of materials and even an example video for how to prepare for the interview beforehand. That was nice.
Upon joining the CoderPad, I was given a straightforward problem and I worked through it. Nothing fancy. Then the interviewer upped the complexity of the problem. Okay, I got nervous but felt confident. However, this is where things got fishy.
I talked through a couple solutions, including using reduce and recursion. I decided to go with the reduce approach, but the interviewer stopped me with a question ("reduce??"). I explained my thought process and was met with silence, so I asked what they thought. Their answer was "you mentioned recursion..." and so I sort of decided to go with the recursive approach, hoping the solution would reveal itself. I honestly didn't understand how I might do it with recursion, but tried it anyway. And this cost me the interview. I didn't complete it.
After the interview I tried doing the reduce approach and completed it in under 10 minutes. I was kicking myself afterwards for letting the interviewer nudge me in the wrong direction. It was ultimately my fault. However, I felt like the interviewer did not set me up for success. At no point did they suggest 'maybe recursion isn't the way to go.'
Having interviewed engineers over 100s of times at previous startups, this is absolutely something I've done in the past to help keep the momentum of the interview. Again, I take blame for perhaps not 'managing up' in this scenario, but did not appreciate the interviewer's approach and felt that it would be appropriate to share with others.
Questions
Matching patterns and grouping sub-groups; Algorithms
Was this helpful?
Interview Statistics
The following metrics were computed from 16 interview experiences for the Vanta Senior Software Engineer role.
Success Rate
Vanta's interview process for their Senior Software Engineer roles is extremely selective, failing the vast majority of engineers.
Experience Rating
Candidates reported having very negative feelings for Vanta's Senior Software Engineer interview process.
Vanta Work Experiences
- 2.0Advanced Tech and Advanced Burnout: Proceed with CautionSenior Software Engineer • Former EmployeeVancouver, BCMarch 28, 2025Pros: Strong, compelling product Advanced technology stack Great learning opportunities Competitive compensationCons: The onboarding process was poorly structured, leaving new employees with minimal guidance, inadequate support, and the expectation to independently navigate complex tasks across multiple teams. The organizational culture tends to prioritize individual performance over teamwork. Employees are explicitly discouraged from seeking peer assistance, severely limiting collaboration, knowledge sharing, and collective problem-solving. Performance management often relies heavily on negative reinforcement and job security threats, creating excessive stress and anxiety rather than motivating genuine improvement. This approach undermines employee confidence, negatively affects mental health, and impacts personal well-being. Managers often lack the necessary skills or willingness to provide real mentorship or empathetic guidance. Superficial mentoring combined with unrealistic short-term expectations frequently leaves employees feeling unsupported and set up to fail. Decisions affecting projects and responsibilities are frequently made without adequately informing or involving the relevant employees, leading to frustration, confusion, and reduced productivity. Employees are frequently advised not to ask colleagues for help, but instead directed toward AI tools—under the questionable assumption that AI systems inherently possess detailed knowledge of internal processes, organizational context, and proprietary code.
- 5.0Great companySenior Software Engineer • Current EmployeeNew York, NYNovember 12, 2025Pros: Strong growth and really talented people.Cons: Bureaucracy is growing, making it more difficult to move quickly.
- 5.0Great work environment, passionate people, competitive packageSenior Software Engineer • Current EmployeeNew York, NYJanuary 14, 2026Pros: - Leadership creates clear initiatives and goals that filter down to individual teams efficiently - Good balance between swift delivery of value and long-term maintainability thinking - Comp and benefits are great - Passionate and friendly people across the companyCons: Priorities can shift swiftly, and teams can gain and lose ownership of features without much notice.
