Chewy Software Engineer candidates commonly report a recruiter conversation, a live coding screen, and a final loop blending behavioral, coding, debugging, and sometimes system-design discussion.
$135K
Avg. Base Comp
$165K
Avg. Total Comp
2-6 rounds
Typical Rounds
2-4 weeks
Process Length
Chewy Software Engineer interviews reported here commonly combine a recruiter conversation with a live technical screen and a later multi-interviewer stage. The technical bar described by candidates varies: several encountered easy or medium HackerRank/LeetCode-style work, while others received harder coding questions. Prepare to explain your reasoning clearly, not just reach an answer; reported topics include arrays, trees, stacks, binary search, and basic Java concepts.
Behavioral preparation matters throughout the process. Candidates repeatedly mention questions about why Chewy, conflict, mistakes, leadership, prior work, and teamwork. Build concise STAR stories that show how you handled disagreement, made decisions, and worked with others. Some candidates also report a hiring-manager discussion focused on their current role and past responsibilities.
Final stages may be broader than a standard algorithm interview. Reported sessions include debugging an existing application or broken code, discussing testing, designing a CRUD application, and outlining database tables and API endpoints for a proposed system. Practice narrating tradeoffs and clarifying assumptions before proposing a design.
The process format varies by team and candidate, so treat the sequence below as a preparation pattern rather than a fixed loop. Some candidates completed four one-hour final interviews, while other reported paths used shorter behavioral and technical pairings.
Synthesized from 11 candidate reports by our editorial team.
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Real interview reports from people who went through the Chewy process.
The biggest surprise for me was how inconsistent the process felt depending on the round. After applying online, I got a recruiter call about three weeks later, followed by a phone screen that included conversational questions such as why I wanted to work at Chewy. About a week after that, I had a technical interview with an engineer. It used an easy HackerRank-style problem, and I was able to move forward.
The final stage was four one-hour interviews spread across two days: three technical sessions and one behavioral. The technical portions focused less on tricky algorithms and more on practical engineering. I debugged an existing application and talked through the design of a basic CRUD application, including the tradeoffs behind design choices. The interviewers were respectful and friendly, and that made it easier to explain my reasoning as I worked.
One thing I would flag is that the advertised format may not always match how the time is used. I was told to expect Python and SQL in a LeetCode-style interview, but the interviewer joined several minutes late and spent roughly the first 30 minutes on my background and relevant technologies. That left only about 25 minutes to assess both Python and SQL. I solved the Python question, but there was no time for SQL and no follow-up evaluation before the decision. Overall, I received an offer, but I would go in prepared to pivot between a coding exercise, debugging, system-design discussion, and detailed conversation about my past technical work.
Prep tip from this candidate
Practice explaining the tradeoffs in a basic CRUD application design and debugging an existing application aloud. Also be ready for a short Python/SQL-style coding slot that may be compressed by background discussion.
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Sourced from candidate reports and verified by our team.
Topics based on recent interview experiences.
Featured question at Chewy
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| Why Do You Want to Work With Us | |
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Synthesized from candidate reports. Individual experiences may vary.
Candidates report an initial recruiter call focused on background, current work, interest in Chewy, and sometimes salary expectations or relevant experience. Be ready to summarize your work clearly and explain why the role fits your next step.
Candidates commonly report a technical interview with a HackerRank- or LeetCode-style problem, sometimes alongside discussion of Java, past technologies, or technical fundamentals. Difficulty ranges from easy/medium to harder problems across reports.
Candidates report behavioral questions about conflict, mistakes, leadership, teamwork, customer focus, and project impact. Some processes include a hiring-manager or senior-leadership conversation that explores responsibilities and decision-making.
Several candidates report a final multi-interviewer stage. Depending on the team, it may include additional coding, debugging or testing discussion, and practical design work such as CRUD tradeoffs or an ecommerce shopping cart.
