Interview process
The Identity Software Engineering hiring process
We believe in a transparent, standardised technical evaluation. Here is the exact path you will take, and how our team supports you at each milestone.
The interview stages
01Initial talent conversation
Your journey begins with a 30 minute conversation with a Talent Partner. This stage focuses on learning about your engineering experience and what drives you to pursue a role at Entrust. We will also share insights into the team, the role, and our broader process so you know exactly what to expect next.
02Hiring manager call
Next, you will meet a member of our Engineering team to cover the high-level story of your software engineering experience. We want to hear about where you started, where you are now, and the most interesting technical challenges you have faced. This is also a fantastic opportunity for you to ask us questions about our stack, team culture, and engineering practices.
03Live pairing or technical task
If the initial screening goes well, you will advance to your first core technical interview. To ensure we accommodate different working styles, the choice is yours: you can complete a take-home task on your own time, or participate in a one-on-one live pair-programming session with one of our engineers on a shared screen. Your recruiter will provide all the necessary context and resources to help you prepare.
04Second technical stage (systems design)
Following positive feedback from your task or live session, we will schedule a second technically focused interview exploring your knowledge of systems design. This collaborative session will evaluate your skills in software architecture, large-scale problem solving, and technical communication.
05Culture add interview
This vital stage focuses on alignment with our culture and core values. We will ask specific behavioural questions about your past team experiences to understand how you communicate, collaborate, and navigate challenges. We look for candidates who don't just fit our culture, but actively add to it.
06Review & feedback
Finally, our engineering leadership team will review the holistic feedback from all your interview stages to determine how we will proceed. Your recruiter will remain in close contact to deliver transparent updates.
What we look for in Software Engineering candidates
Beyond core coding capabilities, our teams look for distinct professional attributes that define how we build together:
A drive to create an open world
We work to solve problems that change as rapidly as global advancements in technology. We look for curious engineers eager to expand the boundaries of our collective knowledge, thinking creatively to find new solutions while remaining in constant pursuit of personal, team, and company development.
Collaboration
Software engineering is a highly interdependent field. Your ability to work productively with others is just as valuable to us as your technical expertise. We actively foster a psychologically safe environment where engineers at all levels know that their contributions are important and their points of view are valued.
Ability to flourish in a flexible, flat environment
We intentionally support our engineers' development with an internal mentoring program, learning budgets, dedicated time, and opportunities to attend or give tech demos. Our career progression ladder allows for advancement through deep technological expertise just as easily as through structural influence.
General interview tips
To help you show up as your best self, our engineering team has shared their top recommendations for navigating our technical evaluations.
Prepare yourself
There are no "gotcha" questions in our process. We focus heavily on applied examples. For our earlier stages, focus on the technical learnings you have accumulated throughout your career and your specific contributions to helping teams work together. We highly recommend structuring your behavioural answers using the STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) or CARL (Context, Action, Result, Learning) frameworks.
Talk out loud
Whether you are in the live pairing stage, presenting a take-home task, or navigating the systems design stage, we look for open communication. Be prepared to speak in detail through your solutions. Explain your thought process out loud, build your solution, and then discuss it with us. Avoid jumping straight to conclusions, we want to hear how you weigh different trade-offs.
Feedback & collaboration
We value strong collaboration over perfection. We don't expect every single answer to be flawless, and your interviewer will gladly give you hints along the way. Be ready to discuss your plans against alternative options and adjust them if needed. Showing an ability to pivot and work with the interviewer highlights your real-world problem-solving skills.
Take your time
Our interviews last between 45 and 90 minutes depending on whether they are discussion-based or hands-on technical sessions. The interview moves completely at your pace, one step at a time. It can be incredibly helpful to time yourself when practising at home so you feel comfortable with the pacing.
Done is better than perfect
We look for a balance between speed and accuracy. If you notice your answers are taking too long for the allocated time block, pivot and aim for simpler solutions. This allows you to complete the exercise and maximise the impact of your interview session.
Navigating our
technical stages
01First technical stage
Take-home task (option 1)
This option allows you to focus deeply on an isolated problem and complete it at your own pace. You can use any programming language you choose, and we provide a 72-hour window to complete and submit the task. An engineer from our team will thoroughly review your code against standard grading criteria. We evaluate whether your code runs smoothly and covers all explicit requirements, if your solution is robustly structured around testing and coverage, and if you provide clean, clear documentation.
Live coding interview (option 2)
Conducted over a video call, this exercise simulates a true pairing scenario where two developers collaborate on a problem. You, the candidate, will act as the "driver." Your interviewer is there as a sounding board, so feel free to ask questions or discuss potential paths. The goal isn't to hit a flawless solution on the first try; we value an iterative process. You can use any programming language you feel most comfortable with, and you are welcome to use Google to look up language syntax or libraries. We assess for efficiency, clean structure, syntax choice, bug resolution, and working code.
02Second technical stage
Architecture & system design interview
This conversation tests your ability to design systems that scale effectively. Your interviewer may ask you to mimic a real-world system we have in production, or build a complex architecture entirely from scratch. We look for you to lead this session and actively break down the problem space. The panel will evaluate how you adapt your ideas to new constraints, consider failures and bottlenecks in your design, clarify system trade-offs, understand the underlying product goals, and collaborate interactively with the team while solving the problem.