Senior Software Engineer applicants have rated the interview process at Zendesk with 2.9 out of 5 (where 5 is the highest level of difficulty) and assessed their interview experience as 35% positive. To compare, the company-average is 49.6% positive. This is according to Glassdoor user ratings.
Candidates applying for Senior Software Engineer roles take an average of 17 days to get hired, when considering 17 user submitted interviews for this role. To compare, the hiring process at Zendesk overall takes an average of 28 days.
Common stages of the interview process at Zendesk as a Senior Software Engineer according to 17 Glassdoor interviews include:
Phone interview: 33%
One on one interview: 25%
Presentation: 10%
Skills test: 10%
Group panel interview: 8%
Background check: 8%
Personality test: 3%
Drug test: 3%
IQ intelligence test: 3%
Here are the most commonly searched roles for interview reports -
I applied online. The process took 3 weeks. I interviewed at Zendesk
Interview
* Phone screen. A super high-level conversation about the role and the company. * A call with the hiring manager. Focus on my experience, culture fit, and Zendesk values. * System design round. Use a whiteboard application to design an app similar to one that the team worked on. * Low-level design + coding. Build a tiny client application that consumes a given API.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Hiring manager round. They asked questions about * Your previous experience; * The way how you address conflicts and challenging assignments; * How you communicate. ------ System design round. I was asked to design a high-level architecture of the application the team worked on. ------ Low-level design + coding. I was given several API endpoints, and my goal was to create a straightforward client application that consumes that API. Unfortunately, because of the poor recruiter communication, I had no idea that I could use React or any other front-end frameworks, so I opted for building another server application that would act as a consumer.
1st round HR round then a screen round with Engineering manager, and then a live coding test with 2 engineers.
I got rejected after the coding test so don't know the process beyond it.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Basic react query about build process and optimizations
I applied online. I interviewed at Zendesk (Singapore) in Sep 2025
Interview
There were 5 rounds
- Screening round with HR
- Manager round
- Technical Coding round
- System design round
- Product manager
The turnaround time was quick. The entire interview process took around 2 weeks.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
General cultural fit questions during manager interview round
I applied through other source. I interviewed at Zendesk (Melbourne) in Sep 2025
Interview
The first round is a behavioral interview with the manager.
The second round is a system design interview with the technical lead.
The third round is a coding interview with a staff engineer.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
1. Behavioral interview: Common behavioral questions.
2. System design: Design Jira.
3. Coding: Implementation of several React components.