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Software Engineer Challenge

Performance & Reliability

Performance, Debugging
Ownership
Software Engineering
Systems Thinking
Estimated Time:
2 minutes
Difficulty:Intermediate
Status:Not started
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What You'll Be Doing

You've just joined a small, high-ownership engineering team building a core product used by thousands of users every day.

Over the last week, people keep saying "the product feels slow and flaky," but nobody owns this part of the system and there's no clear root cause. Metrics exist, but they're noisy, and no one has had time to dig in.

Record a video walking us through how you'd approach this situation and what it says about how you work.

Challenge Guidelines

Assessment Format:

  • Response: 1 continuous video
  • Time limit: Up to 2 minutes
  • Artifacts: None (video only)

Values to Reflect: We're looking for hints of:

  • Ownership
  • Impact
  • Curiosity & Velocity

What You'll Accomplish

Demonstrate structured debugging and diagnostic approach

Show ownership and bias to action

Apply technical and systems reasoning to performance issues

Exhibit values of impact, curiosity, and velocity

How Your Work Will Be Scored

Structured Thinking & Clarity-30%Ownership & Bias to Action-30%Technical & Systems Reasoning-25%Values Alignment-15%

What to Submit

Please submit:

  1. Video Recording (up to 2 minutes):
  • One continuous recording addressing all three parts of the scenario
  • Ensure audio and video quality are clear
  • No editing needed - we want to see how you think on your feet

Video Response

Video · 2 min maxRequired

Format: .mp4, .mov, .webm

Record a single, continuous video addressing all three parts of the scenario:

1. Your first few hours What would you look at or ask for to understand what's really going on?

2. Your next 24 hours Describe one concrete action you personally would take to move things forward, even if nobody asked you to.

3. How this reflects how you work Briefly connect your approach to the kind of engineer you are—how you think about impact, speed, and ownership on a small, fast team.

Tips:

  • Ensure audio and video quality are clear
  • No editing needed—we want to see how you think on your feet
  • You don't need a perfect answer; we want to see how you think, sequence your actions, and show ownership

We're looking for hints of: Ownership, Impact, Curiosity & Velocity

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