Software Engineering Interview Experience - San Francisco, California
Process
I applied for a role in the infrastructure team.
I was contacted by a recruiter to complete a 15-minute HackerRank assessment. The problem description was long, so I made sure to read it carefully.
Following that, I had a 45-minute technical interview with an engineer. We discussed Yelp, my background, and some general scaling concepts. I then answered a technical question via a live coding link.
After this stage, I completed two final 45-minute interviews. These interviews, with an engineering manager and an engineer, followed a similar format.
Two weeks later, I received an offer.
Questions
How would you read in a file that was too big for main memory? What if you had multiple computers?
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Interview Statistics
The following metrics were computed from 10 interview experiences for the Yelp Software Engineering role in San Francisco, California.
Success Rate
Yelp's interview process for their Software Engineering roles in San Francisco, California is extremely selective, failing the vast majority of engineers.
Experience Rating
Candidates reported having very good feelings for Yelp's Software Engineering interview process in San Francisco, California.
Yelp Work Experiences
- 4.0Software Engineer IC3Software Engineer • Current EmployeeToronto, ONNovember 26, 2025Pros: Work in general is pretty chill, good work life balanceCons: Pay is relatively lower than other bigger companies
- 3.0interesting place to workSoftware Engineer • Current EmployeeLondon, EnglandOctober 31, 2025Pros: full remote work life balanceCons: recent pay cuts lack of vision
- 4.0Awesome culture, unimpressive paySoftware Engineer • Former EmployeeSan Francisco, CAOctober 30, 2025Pros: Lots of great people. No toxicity. Excellent engineersCons: Pay isn't competitive Some toxic management
Yelp Interview Questions
