Grammarly Software Engineer interview typically runs 5-6 rounds: recruiter screen, technical coding, system design, experience/impact, manager, and culture/values. It usually takes about a month and is notably structured and polished.
$131K
Avg. Base Comp
$356K
Avg. Total Comp
5
Typical Rounds
3-5 weeks
Process Length
We've seen Grammarly evaluate software engineers less like a pure algorithm shop and more like a product-minded engineering team that wants to hear how you reason. Multiple candidates described interviews that mixed coding with open-ended discussion, and even the LeetCode-style prompts were often framed around explaining tradeoffs and complexity out loud rather than racing to a final answer. One candidate called out a rate limiter and another a graph deep copy on a whiteboard, which suggests the team still values fundamentals, but expects you to stay composed when the format is less polished than you might hope.
A recurring theme is that Grammarly cares a lot about whether you can connect technical decisions to real product impact. Candidates were repeatedly asked to walk through major projects, justify design choices, and discuss distributed systems or feature design for existing infrastructure. That tells us the strongest signal here is not just correctness, but whether your thinking feels practical and grounded. We also noticed that the interviewers were described as friendly and thoughtful, which usually means they are listening for clarity and structure more than memorized patterns.
One non-obvious factor that came up more than once was logistics. At least one candidate was surprised by how direct the team was about relocation and the meaning of “remote first,” so we’d treat location expectations as part of the evaluation, not a side note. In other words, Grammarly seems to reward candidates who are technically solid, can articulate impact, and are aligned with the company’s working model from the start.
Synthetized from 3 candidates 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 Grammarly process.
The process felt pretty polished overall, and the recruiter kept things moving quickly. What stood out to me early on was that the role was not as remote-friendly as I had expected from the description. In the initial screening, the conversation was pleasant but very direct about logistics, and I was asked whether I was willing to relocate. I also got the impression that their “remote first” setup really meant being in the office at least two days a week, so that was worth clarifying upfront.
The screening itself had a mix of technical and open-ended discussion. I was given one LeetCode-style problem and then a more open-ended question, which made the round feel less like a pure coding test and more like a check on how I think through problems. The later onsite was more substantial and had a good balance of system design, algorithmic problem solving that was not your typical LeetCode, and a presentation on two of my past projects. There were also questions about my previous experience and distributed systems. Overall, the interviews felt thoughtful and well organized, with smart interviewers who asked meaningful questions. I ended up getting an offer, and the main takeaway for me was to be ready for both the technical depth and the location expectations early in the process.
Prep tip from this candidate
Be ready to discuss distributed systems and to present two past projects clearly, since both came up alongside system design and algorithmic problem solving. Also clarify the hybrid expectation early, because the role was described as remote first but required at least two days in the office.
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 Grammarly
How would you differentiate between scrapers and real people given a person's browsing history on your site?
| Question | |
|---|---|
| Length Of Longest Palindrome | |
| 2nd Highest Salary | |
| Empty Neighborhoods | |
| Top Three Salaries | |
| Merge Sorted Lists | |
| Subscription Overlap | |
| String Shift | |
| Raining in Seattle | |
| Prime to N | |
| Bagging vs Boosting | |
| Rolling Bank Transactions | |
| Customer Orders | |
| Comments Histogram | |
| Top 3 Users | |
| Closest SAT Scores | |
| Random SQL Sample | |
| P-value to a Layman | |
| First Touch Attribution | |
| Delivery Estimate Model | |
| Upsell Transactions | |
| Size of Joins | |
| Job Recommendation | |
| Monthly Customer Report | |
| Scrambled Tickets | |
| Minimum Change | |
| Sum to N | |
| Recurring Character | |
| Google Maps Improvement | |
| Twenty Variants |
Synthesized from candidate reports. Individual experiences may vary.
The process starts with a recruiter call that covers logistics, role expectations, and fit. Candidates reported being asked directly about relocation and in-office expectations, since Grammarly's "remote first" setup may still require being in the office at least two days a week.
This round mixes coding with open-ended discussion rather than being a pure LeetCode test. Candidates described one LeetCode-style problem, often done whiteboard-style without running code, along with questions about computer science fundamentals, complexity, and how they think through tradeoffs.
Interviewers assess practical system design skills with questions tied to real product or infrastructure problems. Examples included designing a new feature for existing infrastructure and discussing distributed systems concepts.
This conversation focuses on past work, project depth, and measurable impact. Candidates were asked to walk through major projects in detail, explain design decisions, and describe the outcomes of their work. A later coding round is typically harder than the first and emphasizes explanation of tradeoffs as much as correctness. One reported prompt was implementing a rate limiter that allows no more than n requests per time unit.
The final management conversation is similar to the impact-focused round and checks overall fit, judgment, and communication. Candidates described speaking with a top manager near the end of the process. The process may end with a values- or culture-focused interview. This stage appears to assess alignment with Grammarly's working style and team expectations before the final decision.