Software Engineer Hiring Checklist

The hiring manager writes the job description against your engineering ladder — IC3 vs IC4 vs Staff each carry different scope and impact expectations. Be explicit about must-have languages and frameworks (e.g., Go + Kubernetes, not 'modern backend stack'). Vague JDs produce a noisy top-of-funnel that wastes recruiter time.

Decide which signals each interview slot covers — system design, coding, behavioral, hiring manager — and lock the rubric in your ATS (Greenhouse, Ashby, Lever) before any candidate enters the funnel. Calibrating mid-pipeline is how you end up rejecting strong candidates because interviewers used inconsistent bars.

Recruiter triages the queue daily — aim for under 48 hours from application to disposition so candidates don't go cold. Filter on the must-have signals from the rubric, not on credentialism (a CS degree from a top-20 school is not a must-have unless you said so explicitly).

Use whichever screen format your team has calibrated — a 90-minute CoderPad pairing screen or a time-boxed take-home (cap at 4 hours; longer ones bias against candidates with caregiving responsibilities). Same prompt for every candidate at this level so scores are comparable.

Coordinate the four slots within a single day or split across two half-days — system design, coding, behavioral, and hiring manager. Confirm interviewers are calibrated for this level; pulling in an uncalibrated panelist is the most common source of inconsistent debriefs.

Senior engineer or staff+ runs this slot. Use one of the team's standard prompts (URL shortener, rate limiter, notification fan-out) — not a problem the candidate happens to have solved at their last job. Probe tradeoffs: consistency vs availability, read vs write optimization, blast radius of a bad deploy.

Mid- or senior-level engineer pairs on a real-codebase-shaped problem in CoderPad or a sandboxed repo — not a Leetcode hard. Look for incremental progress, willingness to ask clarifying questions, and how the candidate handles a hint. Silent struggling for 45 minutes is a no-hire signal regardless of whether they finish.

Cross-functional interviewer (PM, designer, or skip-level) probes collaboration, conflict, ownership, and how the candidate handles disagreement with a tech lead. Use STAR-format prompts and document quotes verbatim — vibes-based feedback in the debrief is how bias creeps in.

Every interviewer submits their scorecard before reading anyone else's — Greenhouse and Ashby both enforce this. Anchoring on a colleague's strong-hire vote is the single biggest distortion in panel feedback. No verbal-only debriefs.

Hiring manager facilitates; each panelist summarizes their signal in 90 seconds before discussion opens. If there's a split (one strong-no among three strong-yes), discuss the dimension that's in conflict — don't average. Document the decision and the reasoning, since this is also your audit trail if a rejected candidate disputes the outcome.

Recruiter delivers the offer verbally first, then sends the written offer letter the same day. Cover base, equity (with strike price and vesting cliff), sign-on, and start date. Set an explicit response window — 5 business days is standard; open-ended offers stretch into competing-offer auctions.

Trigger the Checkr or HireRight package contingent on the signed offer. For roles touching customer data or production access, run the more thorough package (criminal + employment + education); a basic package is fine for most ICs. Average turnaround is 3-5 business days — start the day the offer signs.