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AIRBNB · STAFF SOFTWARE ENGINEER

Airbnb staff engineer interview

The staff and principal software engineer level at Airbnb is G10 Staff and above, for staff, principal and senior staff engineers. The rounds at this level, how each one is scored, and the questions to practise first.

From public candidate reports and Airbnb's careers pages, checked November 2026. Processes vary by team. AlgoRung is not affiliated with Airbnb.

Track my Airbnb prep
Airbnb titleG10 Staff and above
ExperienceStaff, principal and senior staff engineers
Interviews after screeningAbout 7
System design roundYes

The Staff Software Engineer rounds, in order

  1. Phone / recruiter screen · 30 min

    A recruiter call on background, motivation and light behavioral questions.

    At Staff Software Engineer: Frequently a hiring-manager conversation about scope and impact instead of pure coding.

  2. Coding (DSA) · 60 min

    The technical screen requires running code, not pseudocode, on medium-hard problems often framed around bookings.

    At Staff Software Engineer: One or two rounds, sometimes design-flavoured (build a small class with several methods). Coding is a bar to clear, not where level is decided.

  3. Coding (DSA) × 2 · 60 min

    Onsite coding is reported as harder than average and DP-heavy; senior candidates may get only one coding round.

    At Staff Software Engineer: One or two rounds, sometimes design-flavoured (build a small class with several methods). Coding is a bar to clear, not where level is decided.

  4. Team-specific round · 60 min

    Some loops include a code review round where you critique a prepared pull request seeded with bugs.

    At Staff Software Engineer: Presentations or deep dives on multi-quarter work that crossed teams.

  5. System design (HLD) · 60 min

    System design with a vague, product-aware prompt that rewards clarifying scope and caring about the user experience.

    At Staff Software Engineer: Two rounds at many companies. Expected to handle ambiguity, cost, operations and cross-team trade-offs, and to change the design when the interviewer pushes.

  6. Behavioral × 2 · 45 min

    Two core values interviews, often run by trained employees outside the hiring team, which can block an offer on their own.

    At Staff Software Engineer: Expected scope: org-wide impact, setting direction, hard trade-offs with leadership.

  7. Hiring committee

    A committee sets the level, and team matching calls happen before the offer.

    At Staff Software Engineer: Staff packets get extra scrutiny on design and behavioral scope.

What Airbnb interviewers look for

Behavioral rounds are based on the Core values: Champion the Mission, Be a Host, Embrace the Adventure, Be a Cereal Entrepreneur. Questions for each one.

Coding questions to practise for Airbnb Staff Software Engineer

One or two rounds, sometimes design-flavoured (build a small class with several methods). Coding is a bar to clear, not where level is decided.

Difficulty
Topic
6 questions
  1. Alien Dictionary Hard Graphs also Amazon, Meta
  2. Combination Sum (repeating elements) Medium Recursion & Backtracking
  3. Coin Change Medium Dynamic Programming also Google, Goldman Sachs, Salesforce
  4. Cheapest Flights Within K Stops Medium Graphs also Google, Flipkart, Swiggy
  5. Reconstruct Itinerary Hard Graphs also Amazon
  6. Maximum Profit in Job Scheduling Hard Dynamic Programming also Razorpay

How the coding round is scored · The online assessment

System design at Staff Software Engineer

Mid-level candidates and above get one design round. Senior and staff candidates are judged on product-driven trade-offs (latency, consistency, user experience) and on scope, not on reciting distributed-systems vocabulary.

All Airbnb system design questions

Questions people ask

How many rounds are in the Airbnb Staff Software Engineer interview?

About 7 interviews after the screening: phone / recruiter screen, coding (dsa), team-specific round, system design (hld), behavioral, hiring committee.

Is there a system design round for Airbnb Staff Software Engineer?

Yes. Mid-level candidates and above get one design round. Senior and staff candidates are judged on product-driven trade-offs (latency, consistency, user experience) and on scope, not on reciting distributed-systems vocabulary.

What coding questions does Airbnb ask at Staff Software Engineer?

The same question pool is used across levels; the bar rises with level. Most reported: Alien Dictionary, Combination Sum (repeating elements), Coin Change, Cheapest Flights Within K Stops, Reconstruct Itinerary.

What does Airbnb expect in coding rounds at Staff Software Engineer?

One or two rounds, sometimes design-flavoured (build a small class with several methods). Coding is a bar to clear, not where level is decided.

Staff Software Engineer interviews at other companies

Staff Software Engineer interview questions across all companies · Behavioral questions