Senior Software Engineer Interview Experience - San Francisco, California
Process
The interview process started with talking to the recruiter, which then moved to the hiring manager and a senior developer from the team before they flew me to SF.
The on-site interview was rigorous in terms of meeting a lot of people, but it was a great experience to meet a lot of different people and understand the company and position from different perspectives.
I talked to almost 6-7 people on the interview day.
Questions
Most of it was walking through the resume and experiences and challenges in past projects.
There were a lot of technical questions on one of the Skype interviews and a whiteboard session with a developer on site. Everything dealt with covering the basics and general knowledge of CS.
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Interview Statistics
The following metrics were computed from 6 interview experiences for the Zendesk Senior Software Engineer role in San Francisco, California.
Success Rate
Zendesk's interview process for their Senior Software Engineer roles in San Francisco, California is very selective, failing most engineers who go through it.
Experience Rating
Candidates reported having mixed feelings for Zendesk's Senior Software Engineer interview process in San Francisco, California.
Zendesk Work Experiences
- 2.0Downhill after acquisitionSenior Software Engineer • Former EmployeeSan Francisco, California, United StatesMarch 18, 2025Pros: I loved my teammates that I worked with. I got to explore newer technologies and actually get them adopted. Remote work, which was nice. Pay was great at the beginning.Cons: In the 4 years I worked there, over 5 layoffs happened. Sometimes happening 5 months apart after being told there would be no more layoffs. Everything is being shipped to India in regards to engineering work. Career advancement wasn't really there. Owned by private equity which only cares about saving a buck. The atmosphere at Zendesk changed rapidly after being acquired. Way too hyper-focused on AI and not improving elsewhere. In the time I was at Zendesk, I only met my teammates in person once. A lot of turnover; I went through over 15 different teammates in 4 years. C-suite has no idea what is going on and is out of touch with everyone.
- 4.0Great up until the buyoutSenior Software Engineer • Current EmployeeSan Francisco, California, United StatesSeptember 20, 2024Pros: Great team, great managers, and a flexible schedule.Cons: Slowly, they are firing people and only looking to hire offshore. This is typical of private equity companies.
- 4.0A good learning experienceSenior Software Engineer • Former EmployeeSan Francisco, California, United StatesNovember 17, 2023Pros: Smart, helpful people who wanted to empower others to learn.Cons: Team a bit disorganized, without crisp priorities.
Zendesk Interview Questions
