Round 1: The Role-Specific Screening Form
Format: Written questionnaire (via Email or Form).
The Vibe: Pre-screening filter.
What happens: If your CV ticks their baseline boxes, HR will send you a form with about 4 to 5 role-specific questions. This is basically to filter for genuine hands-on experience and see if your background matches what the team is looking for.
💡 Tip: Take your time with this. Write clear, concise answers that highlight your practical experience.
Round 2: HR Screening Call (30 mins)
Format: Video/Phone call with a Recruiter.
The Vibe: Conversational and culture-focused.
What happens: This is a standard initial chat. They will ask about your past experiences, your career goals, and the inevitable question: “Why are you looking to leave your current company?” They are testing your communication skills, cultural fit, and checking if your expectations align.
💡 Tip: Keep your reason for leaving positive, focus on seeking growth, new tech stacks, or bigger challenges. Never badmouth your previous employer.
Round 3: Technical Interview with the Tech Lead (60 mins)
Format: Video call.
The Vibe: High-level technical discussion.
What happens: This round digs deep into your engineering background. The Tech Lead will grill you on your past projects, the architecture decisions you've made, and how you solved complex technical bottlenecks. On top of that, expect plenty of general technical knowledge questions, they'll test your grasp of core backend fundamentals, database management, web protocols, quality engineer, etc to see how well-rounded you are as an engineer.
💡 Tip: Don't just say what you built; explain why you built it that way. Brush up on your fundamentals before the interview. Focus on your problem-solving mindset and how you handle system design trade-offs.
Round 4: The Take-Home Code Challenge (1 Week)
Format: Heavy hands-on assignment.
The Vibe: Intense but practical.
What happens: This is the most demanding part of the process. You are given 7 days to build a product end-to-end. They aren't looking for a half-baked prototype; they want to see a fully functioning application.
💡 Tip: They care about code quality. It’s not just about getting the features to work. You need to write clean code, structure your Git commits logically, follow industry best practices, and most importantly, write solid tests (unit/integration tests) and a clear README.
Round 5: Final Interview with the VP of Engineering (60 mins)
Format: Video call.
The Vibe: High-level double-check.
What happens: This is the final boss. It serves as a technical double-check at an executive level. The VP will ask you to justify your architectural choices, discuss how your application would scale, and evaluate your long-term engineering vision.
💡 Tip: Be confident but open to feedback. Explain your original reasoning, acknowledge their point, and discuss how you would optimize it in a real production environment.