Senior frontend developer interview experience at major tech companies (10+ years experience)

Frontend
1

Hi everyone! I’m a senior frontend developer with over 10 years of experience. I got laid off about a year ago and have been applying to large tech companies on both coasts.

I focused mainly on big tech companies with thousands of workers and huge revenues. I made it to final interview rounds at companies like Amazon, Bloomberg, DataDog, Apple, and HubSpot.

Here are my numbers: 48 job applications, 16 initial phone calls, 12 technical screenings, and 8 final interview rounds.

The company that hired me took about 8.5 weeks for the whole process. They even added an extra interview after the final round which I wasn’t expecting. My new role will be Senior Software Engineer II.

The technical screening was a medium difficulty coding challenge plus JavaScript basics like null vs undefined, type conversion, and prototype chains. After they went silent for two weeks, I had my final round with multiple parts.

First was a huge practical coding test that went 15 minutes over time. I had to build a React TypeScript tool for database mocking using promises and classes. No Google allowed which was really tough.

Second was more technical questions about GraphQL and when to use different libraries, plus system design. But they only asked backend questions about database structure and APIs for a factory system. No frontend questions at all even though that’s what I applied for.

Third was another medium coding problem followed by detailed networking questions. I had to explain how websites load from the ground up including multiplexing, preloaded assets, HSTS, CDNs, TCP handshakes, and server configs like Nginx. This part went really well for me.

After another week of silence, they scheduled a fourth interview which was just behavioral questions and pretty easy.

One more week of waiting and I finally got the offer. I’m signing the paperwork tomorrow.

Feel free to ask about my interview process or any specific details. Studying coding problems and practicing interviews under pressure was definitely key to getting through this.

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wow that networking deep dive sounds intense! did you prepare specifically for those low-level questions or was that just from your general experience? also kinda weird they focused so much on backend stuff for a frontend role - makes me wonder what the actual day-to-day work will look like there?

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That conversion rate from applications to offers is actually quite solid for the current market conditions. The no-Google restriction during coding challenges has become increasingly common at larger companies, though it definitely makes things more challenging. Your experience with the extended silence periods between rounds is unfortunately typical for these enterprise-level organizations. The fact that they added a fourth behavioral round after what should have been final interviews suggests they were genuinely interested but needed additional internal alignment. The mismatch between frontend role expectations and backend-heavy system design questions is something I encountered frequently during my own recent search. Many companies seem to use standardized interview templates regardless of the specific position, which can be frustrating but ultimately tests your broader technical foundation.

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congrats on landing the role! that extra surprise interview after final round sounds brutal tbh. 8.5 weeks is pretty long but seems worth it. curious what the comp package looks like compared to your previous role? also did you negotiate at all or take their first offer?