The Top 20 Companies Hiring Without LeetCode-Style Question
By Evan King
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We all know that across tech, LeetCode-style questions have become a standard part of the interview process. Some see this as part of the game, while others absolutely loathe it. If you're in the latter camp, then this list is for you.
Here's a list of 20 prominent US-based companies that offer a different kind of interview experience, not reliant on data structures and algorithms-type coding challenges.
Slack
San Francisco, CA
Slack's hiring process begins with a resume screen, followed by a phone call with a technical recruiter, a one-week technical exercise, a phone call with the hiring manager, and an on-site interview. The on-site interview focuses on technical and architectural discussions, with no algorithm questions or whiteboard coding involved. It aims to gauge your approach to building and debugging complex systems at a high level.
Stripe
San Francisco, CA / Seattle, WA / Dublin, Ireland / Singapore, SG / Remote
Stripe's interview process includes a programming/debugging phone screen that focuses more on practical coding skills than Leetcode-style challenges. The on-site interview requires you to use their own laptop/setup with full internet access, a systems design discussion, and a conversation with the hiring manager about team alignment.
Lyft's Mobile Team
San Francisco, CA; Seattle, WA; New York, NY; Minsk, Belarus; Mexico City, Mexico
Lyft's Mobile Team specifically interviews you via an on-site (or virtual) project. This is followed by a discussion about the completed project, where the interviewer will delve into your code quality, product sense, and problem-solving skills.
Glassdoor
Remote; San Francisco, CA; Chicago, IL; Uniontown, OH
Glassdoor's hiring process involves a series of coding interviews, but they're not like LeetCode questions. Instead, you are given coding exercises that tackle real-world problems, such as styling a page with CSS or fetching data from an API using JavaScript.
DuckDuckGo
Remote
DuckDuckGo's is unique in that they pay you to get interviewed! The process involves up to two paid projects with video debriefs to go through the project upon completion.
Samsara
San Francisco, CA; Atlanta, GA; London, UK
Samsara's hiring process is traditional in that it consists of a phone interview followed by an on-site interview. The technical challenges, however, are unique in that they are based on real problems Samsara has encountered and are more wholistic than traditional DSA questions.
Segment
San Francisco, CA; Vancouver, Canada
Segment's interview process starts with a simple behavioral phone interview, followed by a take-home assignment. This assignment typically involves a multi-day coding project that is assessed asynchronously upon completion. If you pass the take-home project, you will be invited on-site for interviews that assess your technical capacity with system design-related questions, as well as conduct culture fit interviews.
Airtable
San Francisco, CA; Austin, TX; Mountain View, CA; New York, NY; Remote
Similar to Segment, Airtable's hiring process involves a take-home project that mirrors the challenges they tackle daily. The subsequent five-hour on-site interview delves into the project, UI design, architectural trade-offs, and your debugging skills.
Buffer
Remote
Buffer conducts its interviews over video calls, focusing on a code walkthrough where you discuss your decisions and reasoning. If successful, you'll then undertake a 45-day full-time, fully paid contract project, working on production code.
Dollar Shave Club
Venice, California
Dollar Shave Club also starts with a behavioral phone screen before moving to a take-home project. Depending on performance on the take-home project, you'll be invited on-site for culture fit interviews and higher-level technical discussions.
Garmin
Tucson, AZ
Garmin's interview process begins with a non-technical phone screen, followed by a technical phone screen that delves into the projects listed on your resume. The in-person interview challenge is very unique because it requires you to program an Arduino. You will be provided with three hours and a laptop with internet access.
Gemini
New York, NY
Gemini's interview process starts with a phone chat. Afterward, you will be assigned a take-home project, which, if completed successfully, will be thoroughly discussed during an on-site visit. The interview will also include typical questions about your past experiences and cultural compatibility.
Loom
San Francisco, CA
Loom's interview process begins with a video call that delves deep into your past experiences. You can then choose between a take-home project or an architectural phone screen. On-site interviews follow, which include two technical architecture discussions related to work and one or two non-technical interviews about culture and past experiences.
Lob
San Francisco, CA
Lob's interview process prioritizes real-world problem-solving, technical judgment, and communication. It includes stages such as coding challenges, code review, project storytelling, and design problems based on actual issues faced by Lob. Additionally, there are value alignment discussions. Through a well-structured onsite interview, Lob aims to provide a clear insight into the job role and work culture while assessing your technical and collaborative capabilities. This ensures that both you and the company can make a well-informed decision regarding the employment opportunity.
Mozilla
San Francisco, US; Portland, US; Toronto, CA; Vancouver, CA; Berlin, DE; Remote
Mozilla's hiring process emphasizes deep-dive discussions on technical and mentorship challenges that you've previously faced. You'll be asked to explain and defend your past work in detail. There's no live coding, and the process spans three rounds.
PagerDuty
San Francisco, CA / Toronto, Canada / Atlanta, GA
The PagerDuty software engineering interview is conducted virtually, encompassing a mix of behavioral and technical questions and a practical assignment typically done in a pair-programming setup. The structured process is aimed at mitigating bias and assessing you fairly. It is advised to prepare for sharing personal skills, experiences, and alignment with PagerDuty values in a distraction-free environment.
Sourcegraph
San Francisco, CA & Remote
Sourcegraph tailors each of its interview processes to the candidate. It often includes take-home work, discussions about real-world engineering challenges to understand the depth of your experiences, and assessments on product familiarity.
Zapier
Remote
Zapier's hiring process begins with a recruiter interview, followed by a take-home project. This is followed by a code review of the project, technical discussions with the hiring manager and team engineers, and a values interview.
Zenefits (UI Team)
San Francisco, CA
Zenefits' UI team conducts a technical phone screen focused on JavaScript fundamentals. You might also receive a time-boxed take-home challenge. The on-site interview series is designed to test your understanding of JavaScript, HTML/CSS, and design.
Webflow
San Francisco, CA & Remote
Webflow's interview process starts with a short take-home challenge. If you're successful, you'll be invited to participate in a paid 3-5 day freelance contract project.
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About The Author
Evan, Co-founder of Hello Interview and former Staff engineer at Meta, possesses a unique vantage point having been on both sides of the tech hiring process. With a track record of conducting hundreds of interviews and securing offers from top tech companies himself, he is now on a mission to help others do the same.
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