Duolingo Software Engineer interview experience

Every stage leaned heavily toward LeetCode hard problems, and what really stood out was the sheer amount of follow-up questioning after each core solution.

It wasn’t just that the main tasks were difficult—the interviewer follow-ups kept expanding, almost like the bar was intentionally hard to meet. The combination of hard questions and relentless follow-ups made the whole day feel like it was less about demonstrating ability and more about surviving an exhaustive interrogation.

I didn’t get an offer. Looking back, the main thing I remember is how unrealistic the overall expectations felt