Airbnb Software Engineer candidates report a recruiter screen, a timed coding screen, and later rounds that can include coding, system design, a core-values interview, and in one account a code-review round. Team matching can extend the process even after a passed onsite.
$193K
Avg. Base Comp
$380K
Avg. Total Comp
Not reported
Typical Rounds
Not reported
Process Length
Airbnb Software Engineer reports in this set share a recognizable backbone: a recruiter conversation, a timed coding screen, and, for candidates who advance, a loop that mixes coding, system design, and a values-focused behavioral interview. The coding screen is where two candidates stopped. Reported formats include:
One candidate who needed a hint did not advance, so practice writing a clean first version quickly and extending it under time pressure.
Later rounds vary. One candidate described a code review interview they had not seen elsewhere, alongside a discussion of their previous tech stack and a system design round. Another had two 45-minute CoderPad rounds on data structures, edge cases, and complexity, with no heavy system design. When system design appeared, one candidate found it framed around an Airbnb-specific domain, and that same candidate faced a coding question at roughly LeetCode-hard level.
The behavioral side is substantial. Expect STAR-format questions tied to Airbnb's core values, 'tell me about a time' prompts on collaboration and ownership, and questions about your long-term goals.
Passing the onsite may not end the process. One senior candidate who cleared the loop was still waiting in team matching with no visible openings. Another candidate's process stretched from October past year-end, with team-matching calls in the spring. More than one account describes coordination as slow or disorganized, so plan for an uncertain timeline.
Synthesized from 30 candidate reports by our editorial team.
Had an interview recently?
Share your experience. Unlock the full guide.
Real interview reports from people who went through the Airbnb process.
My interview process at Airbnb started with a recruiter call where we went over my resume and technical background. After that initial conversation, I was sent a HackerRank assessment that combined multiple question types—MCQs, a coding problem, and an API design question. I could choose my programming language, which was nice, and the format required me to walk through my approach before implementing the solution.
Unfortunately, things got messy from there. There were some logistical issues with the interview itself—someone unexpectedly joined the video call who I didn't recognize and couldn't account for. When I said I didn't know who they were, the interviewer seemed to interpret that as suspicious activity or potential cheating. The interviewer was also moving quickly through the material, which added to the pressure. In the end, I didn't move forward in the process. The whole experience felt frustrating because the technical component was straightforward, but the execution and how concerns were handled left a bad taste.
Prep tip from this candidate
Be prepared for a HackerRank-style assessment combining MCQs, live coding, and API design questions where you'll need to verbalize your approach before coding. Also, make sure your interview environment is clear and controlled—any unexpected guests or technical issues can unfortunately be misinterpreted.
Share your own interview experience to unlock all reports, or subscribe for full access.
Sourced from candidate reports and verified by our team.
Topics based on recent interview experiences.
Featured question at Airbnb
Write a query that returns all neighborhoods that have 0 users.
| Question | |
|---|---|
| Hurdles In Data Projects | |
| Success Measurement | |
| Order Addresses | |
| Data Pipelines and Aggregation | |
| Ticket Reservation Locking | |
| String Palindromes | |
| Listing Bookings Aggregation | |
| Deciding Between Solutions | |
| Client Solution Pushback | |
| Payment Data Pipeline | |
| Underpricing Algorithm | |
| Statistically Significant Test | |
| 2nd Highest Salary | |
| Employee Salaries | |
| Merge Sorted Lists | |
| Monthly Customer Report | |
| Bagging vs Boosting | |
| Random SQL Sample | |
| Rolling Bank Transactions | |
| Raining in Seattle | |
| Over-Budget Projects | |
| Delivery Estimate Model | |
| Weighted Keys | |
| Google Maps Improvement | |
| Find the First Non-Repeating Character in a String | |
| The Brackets Problem | |
| Top 3 Users | |
| User Experience Percentage | |
| Job Recommendation |
Synthesized from candidate reports. Individual experiences may vary.
Candidates describe an initial recruiter conversation about their background, which in one case covered the team and project at a high level. One candidate first heard from a recruiter about three months after applying, while another was contacted directly by a recruiter for a remote role.
Reported formats include a 45-minute live coding problem (a LeetCode-style linked-list medium in one case, an implementation problem with harder follow-ups in another), an emailed coding link with about three hours to complete coding and written behavioral prompts, and a CodeSignal assessment with four progressively harder levels around an online storage system. One candidate needed a hint and did not advance.
One candidate had two 45-minute CoderPad interviews over Zoom on data structures and algorithms, edge cases, and time and space complexity. Another faced a coding question at roughly LeetCode-hard level plus a standard-format system design discussion framed around an Airbnb-specific domain. A third described a technical interview covering their previous tech stack and a separate system design round.
One candidate had a code review interview as part of a loop that also included a recruiter call, a technical interview, and system design, and said they had not encountered the format before. It did not appear in every account, but being ready to read and critique code aloud is worthwhile.
Candidates describe behavioral questions tied to Airbnb's core values and answered in STAR format. One had a 45-minute cross-team values interview on collaboration, ownership, communication, and product sense. Expect 'tell me about a time' prompts and questions about your long-term goals.
A senior candidate who passed the onsite described waiting in team matching with no visible senior openings, and had heard that matching can take around two months. Another candidate's process included team-matching discussions that stretched into the spring. One candidate who did not advance noted a one-year wait before reapplying.
