Hiring Engineers When AI Writes Our Code
8 hours ago
- #technical-interviews
- #hiring-practices
- #AI-in-engineering
- Most technical interviews test irrelevant skills like regurgitating algorithms or recalling APIs.
- At Airbnb, efforts were made to remove algorithmic questions to focus on writing maintainable code.
- Designing interviews that test practical skills is challenging but necessary.
- AI has compressed the time needed to build functional solutions, making it a valuable tool in interviews.
- Tolan's interview process mirrors day-to-day work, encouraging AI use to assess problem-solving and judgment.
- Candidates work on real-world problems in a constrained timeframe, using AI tools like Claude or Gemini.
- The interview evaluates problem approach, solution structure, and decision-making, not just code output.
- Post-work discussion focuses on improvements, trade-offs, and readiness for review or production.
- Strong candidates question unclear specs, think about end-users, and demonstrate creativity.
- Judgment and communication remain key traits of great engineers, even with AI assistance.