Greenhouse Software Product Designer Interview Questions
& Process

The interview process was laid out clearly in a slide deck given before the first call. They were really responsive to questions and answered them quickly. The interviewer was generous with their time; our first call ran long, but they offered to extend it so I could ask all my questions. They also defined the problem areas for the role, like modernizing design culture, which was super helpful for prep and during the interview. I appreciated that they let me down quickly after a 4-month process; I heard back within 2-3 business days. A heads-up: they were hiring multiple people for the role but with different specializations, so it wasn't totally clear which one they were considering me for. Greenhouse seems to have a strong culture, which is usually good, but can be tough for newcomers. For example, cameras were off for the first Zoom call without notice, which took pressure off but differs from my past experiences where video calls were the norm. They also used some jargon like 'POC', which slightly contradicts their inclusivity value. The product org structure was a bit confusing, with project-based teams forming across disciplines, and I had to ask for clarification a few times. This might have hurt my chances since they were hiring two people for different teams. But overall, it was a positive and transparent experience, and I'd recommend it.

First there was a phone call with the recruiter, then a phone call with the Director of Product Design. After that I had a 3 day design challenge to complete. The next step was a 4 hr on-site interview. Finally, I had one last phone call with the co-founder Jon Stross. It was a smooth process, they were very clear about expectations and it was one of the best I've experienced. The 4 hours flew by. They gave me a room for the entire interview with water and the interviewers rotated in and out. The onsite included: 1) A run through of the product with a recruiter 2) An engineer 3) A PM 4) A structured culture-add interview with a customer success manager and sales person. Then there was a super casual coffee break with a user researcher. After that, 5) I presented my design challenge to the product design team and 6) had another conversation with the Director of Product Design about management styles. Lastly, 7) I gave feedback to the recruiter.

Started with a recruiter call that covered standard questions like what I'm looking for and why Greenhouse, plus a question about valuing diversity in my work. Then had a 1-on-1 with the head of design. The questions were tough, often multi-part, and I wished I'd had a pen and paper to jot down notes because they were so long and I wasn't sure if I answered all the parts.