I applied through an employee referral. I interviewed at Airbnb (San Francisco, CA) in May 2017
Interview
Week 1:
First contact was with a recruiter a few days after sending my application through a referral at the company. It was a typical recruiter screen and we proceeded to scheduling a technical phone interview.
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Week 2:
The technical phone interview was done over the phone and in CodePen (using collab mode). It was a straightforward UI task I was able to finish quickly, so we found ways to enhance it further. I was emailed the next day and told they wanted to bring me onsite.
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Week 3:
The onsite interviews (6 of them) took up the entire day: 2 technical, 1 algorithm, 2 cross-functional, 1 project deep-dive.
You must sign an NDA when you arrive (so I can't share any of the questions they asked). I was given a brief tour of the building, then shown to my meeting room for the day (they wrote a nice welcome message on the whiteboard).
The 2 frontend technical interviews were much like the phone interview - straightforward UI tasks. Both were done in CodePen and were enjoyable. The algorithm interview was more practical than I expected. We discussed the approach I would take, and then implemented it (also in CodePen). The 2 cross-functional interviews were a series of questions and topics for discussion. I got the idea they were using those to get a gauge on my personality. The final interview was a deep-dive into a past project I worked on. I suggest picking something you enjoyed as it makes talking about it for 45 minutes much easier.
Also included was lunch - the food selection in their cafeteria is impressive. You are paired with an employee who takes you to their cafeteria to eat with you. This was not an interview. It seem silly at first to have a chaperone, but it was a good chance to ask questions both about the company and the interview process.
Despite a long day, everyone involved was polite, upbeat, and courteous to my needs (asking if I needed bathroom and water breaks). All interviews started right in on the problems/questions and then left time at the end for me to ask them questions about the company.
I met with the recruiter on the way out who told me he'd be in touch in 2 days. I left pleased with how I represented myself.
2 days later, I was told they were proceeding to drawing up an offer and that they will have it to me the following week.
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Week 4:
Offer received and signed.
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Overall, it was a very pleasant experience. Everyone I interacted with was pleasant and friendly. Based on some of the feedback I read on Glassdoor, I was expecting uninterested and tired interviewers, but that wasn't the case at all.
10
Other Software Engineer Interview Reviews for Airbnb
Pretty standard engineering interview. Recruiter call, technical interview, system design. They also had a code review interview that I had never seen before. I thought it was a little trickier than average, but not horrible. Sucks that if you don't move to the next round you can't reapply for a year.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Tell me about the tech stack you've worked with before
I applied online. The process took 1 day. I interviewed at Airbnb (San Francisco, CA) in Apr 2026
Interview
Submitted my application and the next day i received the coding assessment I did not speak to anyone it was all done online, Im still waiting to hear back on my results
I applied online. I interviewed at Airbnb in Mar 2026
Interview
Had hiring manager call but got reject after the interview. The interview was around my past experience in the current company. Talked about how I influence roadmap, handle escalations and architect team’s initiatives,
3
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