How to Run Tech Interviews Senior Engineers Don’t Hate

09/01/2026

How to Run Tech Interviews Senior Engineers Don’t Hate

Ask around and you’ll hear the same thing: senior engineers are not afraid of hard interviews — they’re tired of bad ones. Three-hour leetcode marathons, vague “culture fit” chats, or panels where nobody seems aligned on the role.

If you want them to say “yes” at the end, the interview itself has to feel like a good use of their time.

1. Start with a clear scorecard

If your team can’t agree on what “good” looks like, the process will be chaotic.

Before opening the role, define:

4–6 key skills (technical and behavioral).
Concrete signals for each (what “strong”, “OK”, “no” look like).
Who owns which signal in the process.

This keeps interviews focused and makes decisions faster and fairer.

2. Test real work, not puzzle skills

Most seniors don’t ship red-black trees in production.

Better options:

A short system design session based on your real domain.
A “pairing” exercise with one of your engineers on a small, realistic task.
A take-home that can be done in 2–3 hours, max, with clear evaluation criteria.

You’re hiring for impact on your codebase, not for competitive programming medals.

3. Respect their time (and context)

Busy senior engineers notice how you handle logistics.

Make it obvious:

Share the full process and expected timeline upfront.
Combine interviews on the same day when possible.
Start and end on time. Every time.

A structured, efficient process sends a strong signal about how you work internally.

4. Let your team show, not just tell

For many candidates, the biggest unknown is the team.

Use interviews to:

Show a real demo of the product and roadmap.
Let them meet future peers, not only managers.
Leave 10–15 minutes in each slot for their questions.

They’re evaluating you as much as you’re evaluating them.

5. Give honest, useful feedback

Silence or generic “we went with another profile” kills your employer brand.

Instead:

Share 2–3 specific reasons for the decision.
Suggest what would have made a “yes” more likely.
Keep doors open for future roles when it makes sense.

Great interviews are rare. Candidates remember them — and talk about them.