Updated by DoorDash candidates
Software Engineer Interview Experience
Their coding round was basically, "build a backend payout service for Dashers, model the objects, pull activity data from an upstream API, and calculate daily pay plus bonus." That felt way closer to real work than a normal algorithm round.
Interview process
I interviewed for a Software Engineer L3 role. The process went recruiter screen first, then a code craft round, then debugging, system design, and a hiring manager round at the end. The thing that stood out most was code craft, because I had to build backend APIs for a Dasher payout service instead of getting some generic coding prompt. So the loop felt pretty grounded in actual engineering work rather than just a standard interview template.
- Recruiter screen
- Technical interview
- Final round
Interview rounds
3 questions across 5 roundsRecruiter screen
Overview
It was a pretty standard 30-minute recruiter call just covering the role, Seattle location, expectations, and logistics.
Technical interview (1)
1 questionOverview
This was the code craft round, and it was the most distinctive part of the process. They told me in advance what code craft would look like, sent a document with expectations, and also called out restrictions around using AI.
Specific questions asked
Build out backend APIs for a Dasher payout service using activity data from an upstream API, persist the data, model the domain objects, and write a method to calculate a Dasher's daily payout for a 24-hour period including base rate and bonus pay.
I treated it like a real backend implementation instead of an algorithms question. I pulled in the activity data with start and end times from the upstream API, modeled the metadata with objects for the activity and order data, recorded that in the database, and then wrote the payout service method. My calculation rolled up the deliveries for that day, multiplied by the base rate, and added bonus pay. It felt very domain-heavy and practical.
Technical interview (2)
1 questionOverview
The debugging round was pretty basic. They gave me an existing round-robin implementation and had me find a few issues in it.
Specific questions asked
Here is a round-robin implementation. Find three to four bugs in it.
I went through the existing round-robin code line by line and called out three or four bugs. It was more about reading practical code and spotting issues than building something from scratch, and it felt pretty straightforward.
Technical interview (3)
1 questionOverview
The system design round was on building a recommendation system. The prompt itself was broad, and that is the main thing I remember from it.
Question types asked
Specific questions asked
Final round
Overview
I had a hiring manager round toward the end. I did not get into the exact questions afterward, but the hiring manager came across as nice.
Interview tips
I would not prep for this like a pure algorithms loop. I'd spend time on practical backend coding, because that mattered way more here than grinding LeetCode. Also, actually read the code craft doc they send, since they tell you what to expect and even spell out the AI rules. On top of that, be ready to debug an existing round-robin implementation and cleanly talk through a recommendation-system design.
Company culture
The people I talked to on the interview side were nice, especially the hiring manager. The annoying part was the recruiter process, because some of my emails did not get responses and the gaps between scheduling steps were pretty long.
Get full access with a membership, or share your experience to try it free.
More DoorDash interview experiences
“The screen gave me only an empty main function. I had to write everything, including reading the input, and that tripped up people I know more than the logic did.”
“A total of 5 rounds, starting with phone screen where a dsa problem was given and candidate expected to write the code from scratch and run it, this was elimination round. Followed by bug bash, lld, hld (+ behavioual rounds) Process was smooth, some interviewers were not attentive but overall good experience.”
See all 8 DoorDash Software Engineer interview experiences →
