I applied online. The process took 3 months. I interviewed at HackerOne (San Francisco, CA)
Interview
High level:
- 1 phone screen discussing culture/philosophy/tools
- 1 in-person interview with lunch, 2x1.5 hour pairing sessions, 2x1 hour social/culture discussions
Low level:
- Emailed company, got reply in a week about interest in continuing further
- Back/forth 2 weeks to schedule a phone screen due to slow responses
- Phone screen went as discussed in high level. HackerOne was open and communicative during interview
- Back/forth 2 weeks to get confirmation about next stage (in-person interview) due to slow responses again
- In-person interview went as discussed in high level. HackerOne was open and friendly during interviews
- Pairing sessions involved adding features to existing codebases (mostly me driving)
- HackerOne asked for references a few days later and I handed them over promptly
- Followed up 3 times for 3 weeks after handing over references (there were responses to each of the follow ups with minor progressive movements)
- Received request for phone call 2 weeks later (last follow-up was during Christmas/NYE week so potential reason for delay)
- Turned down via phone call
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Among many things: Asked about past experiences and organizational structures
Recruiter interview, Hiring Manager, Onsite (technical, behavioral). Total time 3-4 weeks. Clear process with recruiter checking in every step of the way. Onsite behavioral was more about culture fit past experiences.
I applied through a recruiter. I interviewed at HackerOne (Groningen) in Sep 2025
Interview
I received an invitation from a recruiter to apply. The interview process consisted of three stages: a cultural fit interview with the person who would be my manager, a live coding technical interview, and a system design interview.
Interview questions [3]
Question 1
•The cultural fit interview was focused on getting to know each other and discussing experience, values, expectations... etc.
•The system design interview required designing a system to solve a given problem, explaining the solution, and answering follow-up questions.
Nothing overly complex, and all the interviewers were lovely and supportive throughout the process.
I applied through a recruiter. The process took 3 weeks. I interviewed at HackerOne (Austin, TX) in Aug 2025
Interview
The interview process was very high quality; from the very beginning, the recruiter and hiring manager were very communicative and answered any question I had during the process. Each individual had genuine interest into "who you are" and made the interactions feel more like a conversation rather than an interrogation. The technical interview was collaborative and fun, challenging you to think deeply without the typical "gotcha" questions that are difficult to complete. After having done quite a few interviews through my career, I can confidently say that my interview experience at HackerOne was one of the best.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
I can not disclose questions during the interview, but preparing general behavior questions as a starting point would be my suggestion.
Software Engineer applicants have rated the interview process at HackerOne with 3 out of 5 (where 5 is the highest level of difficulty) and assessed their interview experience as 86% positive. To compare, the company-average is 76.7% positive. This is according to Glassdoor user ratings.
Candidates applying for Software Engineer roles take an average of 33 days to get hired, when considering 7 user submitted interviews for this role. To compare, the hiring process at HackerOne overall takes an average of 26 days.
Common stages of the interview process at HackerOne as a Software Engineer according to 7 Glassdoor interviews include:
Phone interview: 24%
One on one interview: 24%
Background check: 14%
Skills test: 14%
Presentation: 5%
Group panel interview: 5%
Personality test: 5%
Drug test: 5%
IQ intelligence test: 5%
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