I applied online. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at Xero (Auckland, Auckland) in Jun 2022
Interview
There were 3 parts to the interview.
1) recruiter phone screening (20 mins)
Talking about current experience, expectations, etc
2) technical interview (1 hour 30 mins)
I was sent a solution with the scenario that I work for a startup and this is their product. The brief asks you to think about possible improvements.
The interview was with 2 engineers, 1 playing the role of product owner with certain requirements, the other playing the role of a colleague that will pair with you to implement said requirements. It's a collaborative process and they assisted with hints when I hit a wall.
3) behavioural interview (1 hour)
An interview with 2 people leads who ask you questions about what you goals are, how do you deal with conflict and other questions along the lines of how you work.
Interview questions [3]
Question 1
Do you spot any possible issues with the codebase before you?
I applied online. The process took 3 weeks. I interviewed at Xero (Melbourne) in Mar 2026
Interview
It takes too long. The questions are difficult. Also there is a behavior test, not sure whether this test is useful. The technical questions are good:
Lead technical design and implementation of complex features and systems
Write high-quality, maintainable code and automated tests
Make pragmatic architectural and technical decisions that balance short-term delivery with long-term sustainability
Coding assessments: Can be live or take-home. pair programming with a given codebase.
Behavioral + teamwork: Interview with non-engineers (e.g., PMs) to probe how you work in teams, handle conflict, and resolve issues.
I applied online. I interviewed at Xero (Sydney) in Jun 2025
Interview
There were 4 rounds.
1) Chat with internal recruiter to check your values, experience and aspirations.
2) Coding challenge: Test conducted on HackerRank. Not overly hard but wouldn't say its simple. The engineer overseeing the test (Cath) was a legend and made me feel at ease.
3) Execution & Cross-Functional Collaboration Discussion: Chat with someone from a non-engineering team. Expect questions around your way of working, challenges you've faced and how you resolve conflicts.
4) Culture Fit & Team Interview: 2 senior/lead engineers check if you fit their teams. Expect questions about your technical background, your exposure to the technologies these teams use and challenges you've face.
Even though I didn't get the job I walked away having learned a lot and the feedback provided by the internal recruiter (Raisa) was very detailed and will help me in my future endeavours.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Write a function that takes in 2 string. Return true or false if a condition is met.
