I applied online. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at Sofar Ocean Technologies (San Francisco, CA) in Jan 2025
Interview
Half hour phone screens with HR and hiring manager, hourlong remote code exercise, then 4 hour on-site interview: systems design, presentation of a past project, discussions with PM, HR, and CTO.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Conduct a 20 minute presentation of a past, technically interesting project
I applied through a recruiter. The process took 4 weeks. I interviewed at Sofar Ocean Technologies in May 2025
Interview
Thoughtful phone screen, code screen, hiring manager call, then an on site with 5 panels covering culture, system design, practical coding, product, and deep technical expertise. Toured the office, its an awesome space. The team was super friendly and genuinely curious.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
They gauged my interest in the several disciplines and fields that relate to their business - physics, ocean, pathfinding, ux, etc.
Staff Software Engineer applicants have rated the interview process at Sofar Ocean Technologies with 3 out of 5 (where 5 is the highest level of difficulty) and assessed their interview experience as 100% positive. To compare, the company-average is 68.8% positive. This is according to Glassdoor user ratings.
Candidates applying for Staff Software Engineer roles take an average of 22 days to get hired, when considering 2 user submitted interviews for this role. To compare, the hiring process at Sofar Ocean Technologies overall takes an average of 28 days.
Common stages of the interview process at Sofar Ocean Technologies as a Staff Software Engineer according to 2 Glassdoor interviews include:
One on one interview: 18%
Group panel interview: 18%
Skills test: 18%
Phone interview: 18%
Personality test: 9%
Presentation: 9%
Background check: 9%
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