fluentkaluo

Every company is different, just like every person. But based on my experience as senior software engineer interviewing (both as candidate and as a hiring manager) over the past three months (big tech and startup), I've noticed two broad categories:

1. Traditional Big Tech Interview Style

A LeetCode-style coding exercise during the phone screen, followed by an onsite consisting of a mix of system design, debugging, additional LeetCode problems, and behavioral/product interviews.

2. Early-Stage Startup Style

Start with a coding homework where you're expected to build using agentic coding tools. The interviewer expects a fully working prototype, along with thoughtful design decisions and trade-offs. Note that for manager/director level hires, homework is usually a ppt presentation. Onsite completely depends on who is the hiring manager, different not just on company but on who is the hiring manager.

Early-stage startups seem more interested in seeing how you use AI agents to build real software, rather than just how well you solve isolated leetcode problems.

Hope this helps!

There is no doubt that companies need fewer SWE to meet their business objectives now. SWE should not run away from this fact.

This does not mean SWE careers are doomed. It simply means its going to be different. AI enables more startups and in turn hires more SWEs. I expect more and more SWE in big tech will transition to startups and the number of SWEs will continue to grow as the number of startups explode.

> Did you have to take a pay cut?

Yes, went from ~180k to ~150k but went back up to ~180k in a year.

> Are you remote?

No

> What industry?

Manufacturing using robotics.

My experience is yes. Don't remember where I saw it, but I have seen chain of thought where the agent says something like "the user is mean and only want to hear what he wanted to hear, let me respond to what he wants instead".

That's cool, would love to try it to record product demos. Question, recently I discovered that claude can create product demo videos from thin air, curious if your product allow adding voice over product demos generated by claude.

Was in the same situation, but it turns out to be the best thing that happened. Was able to find a job at smaller startup that have less formal interview process and the business is booming now! My advice, try reach out to smaller companies, there are a lot more of them and easier to interview as well! Good luck, looking back this might be the best thing that happened!