Chewy software engineer candidates report a recruiter screen, often an online assessment or HackerRank, then a behavioral and technical final. Coding is usually easy to medium, with customer-focused STAR questions.
$145K
Avg. Base Comp
$173K
Avg. Total Comp
3-6 rounds
Typical Rounds
Not reported
Process Length
Candidates describe Chewy's software engineer interview as lighter on algorithms than many tech loops and heavier on behavioral fit. Some report a recruiter screen, sometimes an online assessment, and then a final made up of a 45-minute behavioral round and a 45-minute technical round on the same day. Coding is most often described as LeetCode or HackerRank easy to medium, with examples like BST postorder traversal, valid parentheses, binary search and a 2D array problem.
Behavioral questions come up repeatedly. Candidates mention conflict with a coworker or manager, a mistake, why Chewy, leading a team, and times they went above and beyond for a customer. Have STAR stories that map to the company's principles and a customer-first theme.
The loop is not identical for everyone. Some candidates report longer finals with several interviews. These added system design (a shopping cart, or a database schema and API endpoints), a debugging and testing round, and hiring manager or senior leader conversations about the impact of past work. One candidate heard basic Java comparisons such as HashMap versus Map and ArrayList versus Vector, and another had an OA with an OOP focus. One final-round rejection cited limited experience with the team's stack, after a recruiter screen that asked about React, Spring Boot and AWS. Be ready to speak specifically about the tools in the posting.
Outcomes were mixed, with offers and rejections both reported. Practice explaining your code aloud, since interviewers in several reports were helpful when candidates talked through their reasoning.
Synthesized from 24 candidate reports by our editorial team.
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Synthesized from candidate reports. Individual experiences may vary.
Candidates report a recruiter call, about 15 minutes in one account, covering background, current work and why Chewy. One candidate was also asked about salary expectations and experience with React, Spring Boot and AWS, so confirm the posting's stack beforehand.
Some candidates report an online assessment shortly after applying. One described it as easy and another as OOP-focused. Others describe a HackerRank coding round with an engineer, including a simple 2D array exercise. This step does not appear in every report, so it may vary by team.
Candidates report LeetCode or HackerRank-style problems like BST postorder traversal, valid parentheses, binary search and 2D arrays. Interviewers often wanted the reasoning explained aloud. One candidate also heard basic Java comparisons such as HashMap versus Map and ArrayList versus Vector.
Behavioral rounds are commonly STAR-style. Candidates report questions on conflict with a coworker or manager, mistakes, leading a team, why Chewy, and going above and beyond for a customer. One candidate said senior leaders dug into the impact of past work.
Some candidates report a longer final, such as four one-hour interviews in one account. These may include system design (a shopping cart, or a database schema and API endpoints), a debugging and testing round, and hiring manager or senior leader conversations. The format appears to vary by team and level.
