Instacart Software Engineer candidates commonly report an online coding assessment followed by a loop of coding, system design and behavioral rounds. The number of coding rounds and their difficulty vary by report.
$181K
Avg. Base Comp
$282K
Avg. Total Comp
4-5 rounds
Typical Rounds
Not reported
Process Length
Candidates describe Instacart's Software Engineer process as coding-heavy, with system design and behavioral rounds in the same loop. Several reports begin with an online coding assessment, and one candidate names CodeSignal. One senior candidate then had four rounds: two coding interviews, a system design interview and a behavioral round. Another candidate was told the later loop included three LeetCode-style interviews, a system design round and a behavioral round, so the exact mix varies by candidate and level.
Reported coding difficulty ranges widely. One candidate found two medium CodeSignal problems manageable, while another described the LeetCode-style rounds as hard. One assessment asked for a changelog built on a suitable data structure and checked by unit tests. Its tasks got progressively harder, and AI coding tools were not allowed. Practice timed, multi-part problems where correctness is verified by tests.
Interviewer style appears to vary. One senior candidate said a second-round coding interviewer offered little back-and-forth and told them to pick their own assumptions. Another said interviewers gave no guidance once the exercise started. Rehearse stating assumptions clearly and thinking aloud without relying on prompts. System design was described as average in difficulty. Behavioral questions touch on why Instacart, conflict resolution, cross-functional collaboration, a recent improvement and how you would react in different scenarios. Outcomes in these reports are mostly negative, and some candidates felt good about their rounds before being rejected, so prepare for both speed and communication.
Synthesized from 12 candidate reports by our editorial team.
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Real interview reports from people who went through the Instacart process.
I got through four rounds at Instacart, and I passed every coding round. My last round was system design. The interviewer told me he had no more questions, so we spent the rest of the time talking about other things. I still got rejected.
One thing I'd flag is the online assessment platform. It was buggy and crashed partway through my session, and I couldn't find a way to restart or refresh the environment to continue or check my work in the app. My code had no errors, and the full test suite passed when I ran npm test in my terminal, so the failure wasn't in my solution. It made the whole process feel less reliable than it should.
The behavioral question I remember was about a time I got good feedback. Nothing about it was tricky, but I'd still prepare a specific example with the feedback you received and what you changed afterward.
I came away feeling the process was a lot of effort for an unclear result. Passing every technical round didn't guarantee an offer, so I'd go in with realistic expectations and treat each round as useful practice regardless of how it turns out.
Prep tip from this candidate
Keep a local copy of your solution and run your tests locally, since the online assessment environment can crash and leave you unable to restart or check your work in the app. Also prepare one concrete story about feedback you received and how you responded to it, since that behavioral question came up.
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Sourced from candidate reports and verified by our team.
Topics based on recent interview experiences.
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Synthesized from candidate reports. Individual experiences may vary.
Candidates report starting with an online coding assessment, which one senior candidate described as a straightforward CodeSignal test. Another described a changelog task checked by unit tests, with tasks getting harder step by step and AI coding tools not allowed. Practice timed, test-driven problems.
One candidate describes a recruiter phone screen followed by conversations with the hiring manager and several stakeholders. Another had a 30-minute session with two interviewers covering scenario-based and culture-fit questions. Use any recruiter contact to confirm what each later round covers.
Candidates report two or three coding interviews. One senior candidate had two medium-difficulty CodeSignal problems, while another candidate was told of three hard LeetCode-style rounds. Some interviewers gave little guidance, so practice stating assumptions and explaining your reasoning aloud.
Candidates describe system design as average in difficulty. One senior candidate felt confident after it, while another said it went okay but was not their best work. Bring clarifying questions and be ready to explain your approach and reasoning.
Candidates report behavioral questions on why Instacart, a recent improvement, conflict resolution, cross-functional collaboration, how you would react in different scenarios and Instacart's biggest challenges. Prepare specific stories with the action you took and the result. One candidate waited over a month for a rejection, so follow up if you do not hear back.
