Behavioral & Team Fit

Extend places a strong emphasis on team culture and collaboration. They want to ensure that you are someone who elevates the team, handles feedback constructively, and aligns with the company's mission.

Be ready to go over:

• Conflict Resolution – Navigating healthy disagreements on technical direction.
• Ownership – Taking responsibility for successes and learning from failures.
• Product Empathy – Understanding how your technical decisions impact the end-user and the business.

Example scenarios:

• "Tell me about a time you had to deliver a project on a tight deadline and had to make technical compromises."
• "Describe a situation where you had to work with a difficult stakeholder to get a feature shipped."

As a Software Engineer at Extend, your day-to-day responsibilities will revolve around delivering high-quality software that powers the product protection ecosystem. You will be deeply involved in the entire software development lifecycle, from initial ideation to deployment and monitoring.

• Feature Development – Design, build, and maintain scalable APIs, microservices, and user-facing applications using modern technologies.
• Integration Support – Build and optimize SDKs, plugins, and APIs that allow merchants to seamlessly integrate Extend into their e-commerce platforms.
• System Monitoring & Maintenance – Ensure the health, performance, and security of production systems through proactive monitoring, logging, and performance tuning.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration – Partner closely with Product Managers, Designers, and QA Engineers to translate product requirements into technical specifications.
• Code Quality & Mentorship – Participate in code reviews, write comprehensive tests, and mentor other engineers to maintain a high standard of engineering excellence.

The ideal candidate for a Software Engineer role at Extend is a pragmatic problem solver who values clean code, robust architecture, and strong collaboration.

• Must-have skills – Strong proficiency in modern programming languages (such as JavaScript, TypeScript, or Node.js), solid experience building and consuming RESTful APIs, and a deep understanding of database design.
• Nice-to-have skills – Experience with AWS services (specifically Lambda, API Gateway, and DynamoDB), familiarity with e-commerce platforms (like Shopify or Magento), and experience with serverless frameworks.
• Experience level – Typically requires a solid track record of shipping production-grade software in a collaborative team environment. Candidates must demonstrate seniority through practical system ownership rather than just years on a resume.
• Soft skills – Excellent communication, a growth mindset, the ability to thrive in an ambiguous environment, and a strong sense of product empathy.

Q: How difficult is the interview process at Extend? A: Candidates generally describe the difficulty as average to challenging. The focus is heavily on practical engineering skills, system design, and past experience rather than abstract, academic algorithmic brain teasers.

Q: What technologies does Extend use? A: The engineering stack is highly modern, focusing heavily on JavaScript, TypeScript, Node.js, and cloud-native services. They make extensive use of serverless architectures, particularly within the AWS ecosystem.

Q: What is the expectation for the take-home challenge? A: The take-home challenge is designed to be a realistic task representing the actual work you would do on the job. It typically takes between two to four hours to complete, and there is usually no strict time limit, allowing you to showcase your best work.

Q: How does Extend evaluate engineering seniority? A: Seniority is evaluated based on your system design depth, leadership capabilities, technical ownership, and how you approach complex, ambiguous problems. The team values practical experience and architectural maturity over theoretical knowledge.

• Focus on the "Why" – During your technical interviews, always explain the reasoning behind your decisions. Whether you are choosing a database or structuring a function, the interviewers care more about your thought process than a single "correct" answer.
• Emphasize Practicality – When discussing past projects, focus on real-world impact, trade-offs made, and lessons learned. Avoid overly academic explanations and keep your answers grounded in practical engineering.
• Show Product Empathy – Be prepared to talk about how your technical work benefits the end-user and the business. Extend values engineers who understand the business context of the code they write.

• Be Collaborative – Treat the interviewers as colleagues. Engage in active dialogue, ask questions, and be open to feedback during design and code review sessions.

Securing a Software Engineer role at Extend is an exciting opportunity to work on high-impact fintech and insurtech products. By focusing your preparation on practical coding, robust system design, and strong collaborative communication, you can set yourself apart as a candidate who is ready to make an immediate impact on the team.

Take the time to thoroughly review your past projects, practice designing scalable API architectures, and ensure your take-home challenge showcases your best coding practices. With a focused and structured approach to your preparation, you will be well-equipped to navigate the interview process successfully.

The salary information provided reflects the competitive compensation packages offered for engineering talent. When evaluating an offer, consider the total compensation structure, including base salary, equity, and benefits, in relation to your experience level and the impact you will bring to the engineering organization. For deeper insights, real-time data, and additional candidate experiences, explore the comprehensive resources available on Dataford.