Staff Backend Developer Interview Preparation Guide - FAANG Standards
Backend Developer
Staff
7 rounds
Updated 11/23/2025
This guide is based on general FAANG interview practices and may not reflect specific company procedures.
Staff-level Backend Developer interviews at FAANG companies are designed to assess deep technical expertise, architectural thinking, and cross-team leadership influence. The process typically spans 5-7 interview rounds over 2-4 weeks, evaluating candidates on advanced system design capabilities, expert-level coding proficiency, proven mentorship and leadership, and ability to make strategic technical decisions under ambiguity. At this level, interviewers expect candidates to not only solve complex problems but also articulate their reasoning, justify trade-offs, and demonstrate how they've influenced technical direction across teams.
Interview Rounds
1
Recruiter Phone Screen
35 min3 focus topicsbehavioral
2
Technical Phone Screen - Coding Interview
50 min4 focus topicstechnical
3
System Design Round 1 - Scalable Backend System Architecture
50 min5 focus topicssystem design
4
System Design Round 2 - Complex Distributed Systems and Architecture
50 min5 focus topicssystem design
5
Backend-Specific Technical Deep Dive
50 min5 focus topicstechnical
6
Behavioral and Leadership Round
50 min4 focus topicsbehavioral
7
Bar Raiser / Hiring Manager Round
60 min4 focus topicsbehavioral
Additional Information