Harness software engineer candidates report DSA and system design rounds, hiring manager conversations, and in one case a take-home. Several also describe scheduling and communication problems.
$158K
Avg. Base Comp
$215K
Avg. Total Comp
5 rounds
Typical Rounds
Not reported
Process Length
Candidates who interviewed for Harness software engineer roles describe a loop built around data structures and algorithms plus system design, with hiring manager conversations mixed in. Three Software Engineer reports each describe five rounds or steps. One candidate describes an online assessment, a coding round, two technical interviews and an HR round. Another describes a phone screen followed by manager, peer and in-person conversations.
On the coding side, one candidate reports medium-to-hard problems including dynamic programming over trees, binary search and the Dutch national flag algorithm. Another reports easier online assessment questions, then medium problems such as anagrams and basic heaps, sometimes paired with OOP concepts. A Senior Software Engineer candidate reports infix expression evaluation, where operator precedence is the real test.
System design questions reported include a high-throughput metrics system, a top-N movie recommendation engine based on views over the past week, and an async task processor with scheduled execution. One candidate was also asked to abstract SQL queries across different data stores. Another reported a design question that went into schema and query optimization. Practice explaining trade-offs aloud, because one candidate says interviewers cared about reasoning more than the final answer.
The process itself drew mixed reports. One candidate got a clear roadmap of the rounds. Others describe rescheduling, a missing invite, a final interviewer with no context from earlier rounds, and silence after a take-home. Among the Software Engineer reports, one candidate accepted an offer and the others did not. Confirm each round's scope and interviewer ahead of time, and keep your own record of what you have already covered.
Synthesized from 6 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 Harness process.
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 Harness
Select the 2nd highest salary in the engineering department
| Question | |
|---|---|
| Empty Neighborhoods | |
| Top Three Salaries | |
| Merge Sorted Lists | |
| Closest SAT Scores | |
| Subscription Overlap | |
| Monthly Customer Report | |
| Minimum Change | |
| Random SQL Sample | |
| Raining in Seattle | |
| String Shift | |
| Rolling Bank Transactions | |
| Customer Orders | |
| Top 3 Users | |
| Comments Histogram | |
| Find the First Non-Repeating Character in a String | |
| Daily Retention Summary | |
| Flight Records | |
| Prime to N | |
| The Brackets Problem | |
| Upsell Transactions | |
| Find the Missing Number | |
| Scrambled Tickets | |
| P-value to a Layman | |
| Download Facts | |
| Rectangle Overlap | |
| First Touch Attribution | |
| Job Recommendation | |
| Bagging vs Boosting | |
| Google Maps Improvement |
Synthesized from candidate reports. Individual experiences may vary.
Candidates report different openings. One describes an initial recruiter call, another a short phone screen, and another an online assessment with easy DSA questions. Expect an intro to the role and company, and ask what each later round will cover.
Candidates report medium-to-hard DSA problems, including tree dynamic programming, binary search, the Dutch national flag algorithm, anagrams, heaps and infix expression evaluation. Some pair coding with OOP concepts. Interviewers reportedly probe your reasoning and edge cases, so talk through trade-offs as you work.
Reported design prompts include a high-throughput metrics system, a top-N recommendation feature built on weekly views, and an async task processor with scheduled execution. One candidate was asked to abstract SQL queries across data stores. Prepare to justify component choices and trade-offs rather than recite memorized designs.
Candidates report conversations with hiring managers, peers, and in some cases a skip-level or director. These typically cover your current work, how your team handles technical challenges, and culture fit. One candidate reported a final in-person round whose interviewer lacked context from earlier rounds, so be ready to briefly restate key points.
Final steps vary by report. One candidate describes an HR round, and another a take-home followed by a VP interview. Candidates also report rescheduling and long silences, so confirm meetings in advance and follow up on timelines. Outcomes in the reports were mixed.
