Three candidates describe Nordstrom software engineer interviews that mix hiring manager conversations, project deep dives, OOP basics, a moderate coding question, and in one case system design focused on database schema.
$140K
Avg. Base Comp
$160K
Avg. Total Comp
2-5 rounds
Typical Rounds
Not reported
Process Length
Nordstrom software engineer interviews, as three candidates describe them, put a lot of weight on how well you talk about your own work. One backend candidate reported a 30-minute hiring manager call, then an hour with a team lead and a senior engineer who dug into past projects and the decisions behind them. That conversation leaned on object-oriented fundamentals. A roughly 20-minute coding question at the end was described as straightforward, along the lines of maximum sum subarray or a basic sort.
The format varies. An Engineer 1 candidate reported an easy online assessment, then five interviews in one day: a recruiter call, an interval-style coding problem of medium difficulty, system design centered on database design, and behavioral rounds with repeated themes. That candidate suggested practicing data modeling and getting comfortable with HireVue. A third candidate described an online assessment, a pre-recorded behavioral interview, an HR call about why Nordstrom and why the role, and then a hiring manager video interview that was tailored to the team.
All three reported no offer, and the third candidate attributed theirs to thin preparation for the hiring manager round. Practical preparation means having specific stories about the design choices in your past projects, reviewing OOP fundamentals, and practicing medium coding problems. Look into the team's projects before the manager round. With only three reports, expect the exact stages to differ by team and level.
Synthesized from 3 candidate reports by our editorial team.
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Real interview reports from people who went through the Nordstrom process.
I started with an online assessment followed by a pre-recorded behavioral interview through their AI chat platform. The behavioral questions were pretty standard — tell me about yourself, tell me about a project you're proud of — nothing surprising there. After that, I had an HR call where they confirmed basic information and asked the typical questions: why Nordstrom, why this role. It felt like a screening round, pretty straightforward.
The second round was a video interview with the hiring manager. This is where things got more specific to the team and role. The hiring manager was friendly and seemed genuinely interested in my answers, which made the conversation feel natural. Looking back, I realize I wasn't as prepared as I should have been going in. The HM asked maybe three substantive questions and was patient even when I didn't land my answers well. They continued engaging with me and even answered my questions about the team and role, but ultimately it was clear that my lack of preparation hurt my candidacy. I didn't advance past this round.
Prep tip from this candidate
Go into the hiring manager round with specific examples prepared and research the team's actual projects or tech stack — the HM asks questions tailored to what they're actually working on, not generic behavioral prompts.
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Sourced from candidate reports and verified by our team.
Topics based on recent interview experiences.
Featured question at Nordstrom
Write a function `sorting` from scratch to sort a list of strings in ascending alphabetical order
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Synthesized from candidate reports. Individual experiences may vary.
Two candidates report starting with an online assessment. One called it simple and mostly format-based, and advised getting comfortable with the HireVue platform rather than overstudying. Whether you get one may depend on the team or level.
Candidates report a recruiter or HR call that was fairly standard. One was asked about basic information, why Nordstrom and why the role. Another described a pre-recorded behavioral interview on an AI chat platform with questions like tell me about yourself and a project you are proud of.
Candidates describe a hiring manager conversation, either a 30-minute call about background and skills or a video interview tailored to the team's work. One candidate says the manager asked only a few substantive questions, and that stronger preparation on specifics would have helped.
One candidate reports an hour with a team lead and senior engineer covering past projects, decisions and OOP fundamentals, followed by about 20 minutes of easy coding. Another reports a medium interval problem and a system design round on database schema. Expect this stage to vary by team.
