PFL Software Engineer Interview Questions
& Process

I really liked interviewing here. The HR person I talked to was super professional and always gave me good feedback, encouragement, and was really easy to get ahold of. First, I talked to 2 developers who asked me some basic get-to-know-you questions and some technical ones about my background. Then, I got a programming project that took me about a week. After that, I had an hour-long phone chat with HR about my work history. The last part was 3 separate meetings with 6 people, including the CTO. They asked some deep questions to see if I'd be a good fit and if I'd like it there. Everyone was professional and encouraging, and the company culture seemed great. It was tough and took a while, but I get that they're serious about hiring the right people. My impression is that PFL is a top-notch company with smart, supportive people. Definitely recommend!

The interview process kicked off with a phone screen from HR. The HR person was very professional and nice, and the chat went well. After that, I had a call with the CTO the next day. They asked more about my technical background, but there weren't any real technical questions. It was a good chance to get a feel for the CTO's personality, and it was a really good experience. Then came a coding test, which felt like a pretty long step before the technical interview. It would be better if the code sample was shorter and the technical interview came first. I'm not sure how much the code test matters. I finished the minimum required for the code test, but if you only looked at the technical interview, you might think I'd never used C# before. The next stage was a technical video interview with lots of technical questions. These questions are good for seeing how much people know off the top of their head, but software development often involves looking up documentation for less common things, which might not show how well someone can build good applications. Still, this is their process and it works for them to find the right people. This company seemed very professional all the way through. Many companies don't even bother to tell candidates they weren't selected, but PFL actually called me to let me know what I needed to improve to join their team, which I thought was really professional.

It started with a standard phone screen with HR. Then, I had a call with the CTO who made me feel defensive about my background. The CTO then gave me a take-home coding project to build a shopping system using their API, covering everything from product display to checkout and order confirmation. Given the large scope, I focused on implementing a few key features with solid code, spending over 8 hours on it and using my own framework. I sent the completed project to HR. A few days later, I got an email from HR stating that based on my provided information, they didn't have a matching role, which I found inaccurate and unprofessional given the time I invested. Ironically, I used much of the same code in another interview and got an offer.