PayPal | Staff Engineer | Seattle/Remote | Oct [Reject]

I interviewed for a Staff Software Engineer position at PayPal's Checkout team in Seattle/Remote in August - October . I have six years of work experience.

The interview process consisted of three rounds:

• Round 1: Online Coding Assessment (1 hour)
  • Basic String manipulation questions.
  • The questions were ambiguous, with unclear examples and wording.
• Round 2: Technical phone screen (1 hour)
  • Follow-up on the previous questions, adding complexity and parameters.
  • Resume walkthrough.
• Round 3: Virtual Onsite rounds (4 hours)
  • A mix of Coding, System Design, Behavioral, and Clean Coding practices.
  • Behavioral questions included: "Tell me how many people you talk to who are not Software Developers." and "How do you deal with ambiguities when the deliverables are impacted outside your control?"
  • Algorithm question focused on String manipulations.

I was rejected, with no reason given other than they chose another candidate who better fit their needs.

The interview experience was unusual. The coding questions were easy, but the focus was heavily on code quality and the ability to write and maintain good code. I performed well in all the interviews, so the rejection was surprising. It was also disappointing that they didn't provide any feedback or reason for the rejection, despite my request.