I applied online. The process took 2 days. I interviewed at Spotify (Stockholm, Stockholm) in Apr 2012
Interview
The process started with some more generic questions via email (previous experience, availability to move to Sweden, etc), and then there were two Skype interviews. Both were conducted by developers. The first was a series of general knowledge questions about pretty much all CS / software engineering topics, from databases to operating systems. The second one was some programming problems to solve, writing the code in a shared document online.
After this, they were interested and flew me in to their office where I had two technical interviews (whiteboard programming), one HR interview, and one systems design interview.
My perception was that it seems like a very interesting and dynamic place to work at. Most of the people I met seemed to be in that age group where they are still young, but already have quite some experience under their belts, which would provide some good learning opportunities. The work culture seemed quite informal and goal-oriented.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
How would you remove duplicate lines from a dataset that does not fit into memory, preserving the line order?
One of the most disrespectful interview processes I've ever been a part of. First stage was a call with a recruiter, which went fine although there was more than a whiff of wannabe silicon valley waffle from his end.
I progressed and was booked in for a 2nd stage with an engineer. However on the day of the interview it was cancelled as I was told there were scheduling conflicts. Ok fine, it happens. The interview was rearranged for the following week - when the same thing happened again! Interview cancelled on the day due to scheduling conflicts. Booked in again for the following week (third time lucky?) and this time it wasn't cancelled on the day. BUT I joined the call and no-one showed up! After 10-15 minutes I emailed the recruiter who told me the interviewer was off sick but apparently hadn't told anyone?
Finally at the fourth attempt I had my interview with an engineer. It was 75 minutes and consisted of a discussion about a recent project as well as some technical questions and a leetcode task (2 largest elements). It seemed to go ok and I was told I would hear back soon. However after 2 weeks I hadn't heard anything so I decided to email the recruiter asking for an update. That was almost a month ago and as of yet I've still heard nothing back. I'm fine with not passing an interview but I expect at least a cursory "thanks but no thanks" but apparently even that is asking too much.
This whole experience has left me almost glad I wasn't progressed - if this is an insight into life at Spotify I'm happy to not work there. This kind of behaviour shows a complete lack of respect for candidates and their time, so I dread to think how they treat their employees.
I applied online. I interviewed at Spotify (New York, NY) in May 2026
Interview
Spoke with a recruiter, was ghosted after the interview. He asked all the standard questions - why Spotify, expected level, salary expectation, what are the priorities, why left previous company, etc.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
What was the most complicated project you were working on in your previous company?
Initial HR Call and screening, then arround two weeks later leet code task, followed by on-site architectural/design test and the final culture fit check with HR/Managers. Overall the process was 3-4 weeks.