I applied directly to GitHub and went through their standard interview loop for a Senior Software Engineer role. The process included a take-home technical assessment followed by an onsite with multiple rounds. During the onsite, I faced two live coding sessions and one system design round. One of the coding problems involved building a REST API HTTP service, which tested my ability to design and implement a functional service under time pressure. The other coding round covered more general algorithmic problem-solving. The system design session pushed me to think about architecture and scalability at a higher level. Throughout the interview, the questions felt fairly standard for a senior-level position — nothing wildly unexpected, but definitely requiring solid fundamentals and the ability to communicate my thinking clearly. What struck me most was the lack of feedback after rejection. I was simply told I didn't pass, with no explanation of what went wrong or where I fell short. That made it hard to understand whether it was a particular round, a specific technical gap, or something else entirely. In hindsight, I wish I'd had more context on what GitHub was specifically looking for in their senior engineers, since the bar felt somewhat opaque going in.
Prep tip from this candidate
Prepare for live coding around REST API design and implementation, and practice system design with a focus on scalability. GitHub's process does not provide feedback after rejection, so mock both rounds thoroughly beforehand to catch gaps early.
