In the first round of the interview, I was given two mid-level coding problems and one hard-level coding problem, which primarily tested my algorithmic thinking and problem-solving skills. Additionally, there were two other questions focused on SQL, assessing my ability to write efficient queries and handle data-related tasks.
I applied online. I interviewed at TikTok (Singapore) in Jan 2026
Interview
Deep dive into past projects, anything that is relevant in software development would be asked, not only backend development. Then the interviewer posed questions about basic concepts and terminologies like locks, process management, memory management, database sharing etc. Ended with a medium Leetcode problem.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
What was the biggest challenge you encountered during this project and how did you solve it? Did anyone else's advice make you better?
A technical interview: the interviewer gives you a leetcode question, you clarify your misunderstanding with them, you write code while explaning your thoughts, finally you write test to test your code. Used HackerRank platform.
Recruiter - A phone call with the recruiter to ask generic questions
Tech 1 - With team member
Tech 2 - With someone from another team
Behavioral - With the hiring manager
Backend Developer applicants have rated the interview process at TikTok with 3.4 out of 5 (where 5 is the highest level of difficulty) and assessed their interview experience as 31% positive. To compare, the company-average is 37.3% positive. This is according to Glassdoor user ratings.
Candidates applying for Backend Developer roles take an average of 17 days to get hired, when considering 26 user submitted interviews for this role. To compare, the hiring process at TikTok overall takes an average of 30 days.
Common stages of the interview process at TikTok as a Backend Developer according to 26 Glassdoor interviews include:
Phone interview: 26%
Skills test: 24%
One on one interview: 17%
IQ intelligence test: 7%
Other: 7%
Personality test: 7%
Presentation: 7%
Background check: 4%
Drug test: 2%
Here are the most commonly searched roles for interview reports -