Real, anonymous reports from people who interviewed for Software Engineer at Zillow, newest first and distilled into what to expect across the loop.
After a recruiter call, the process moved into a technical screen and then a live coding stage for a problem that felt closer to regular production work than the typical LeetCode style. Once I finished that, I went through a larger set of team interviews with several different lenses: a system design exercise using a whiteboard format for a property search experience that also needed to fit into Zillow’s broader ecosystem, a refactoring round where I had to clean up a production codebase with messy code, a behavioral interview handled in a STAR style, and then a final greenfield coding round that was similar in spirit to the earlier screening.
My interview process dragged out across a large number of steps—about eight distinct parts—starting with recruiter involvement and continuing through multiple technical and team-fit style rounds. I had a code challenge that I needed to complete as part of the process (including a take-home style component), then additional interview stages that mixed behavioral evaluation with refactoring and system design, plus potential team-fit discussions.
The interview process typically includes a recruiter call followed by multiple technical rounds, often featuring coding challenges, system design, and behavioral interviews. Candidates should expect a mix of LeetCode-style problems and real-world coding scenarios, with a focus on both implementation and design reasoning.
Candidates will face a variety of technical assessments, including live coding exercises and system design discussions, often requiring knowledge of real-world applications rather than just algorithmic problems. Be prepared for questions that may cover legacy code maintenance and system integration.
Behavioral interviews are a significant part of the process, often using the STAR method to assess cultural fit and past experiences. Candidates should be ready to articulate their experiences and how they align with Zillow's core values.
Many candidates reported challenges with scheduling and communication, including last-minute cancellations and lack of follow-through after interviews. It is advisable to remain proactive in following up and managing expectations throughout the process.
Candidates often felt the process was lengthy and lacked closure, with many not receiving feedback after interviews. Despite the structured nature of the interviews, the overall experience can feel draining, and candidates should prepare for potential ghosting after the final stages.
There can be a mismatch between candidates' expectations of the interview format and the actual experience, particularly regarding the depth of technical discussions. Candidates should clarify the role's focus areas during initial conversations to align expectations.