Spotify Staff Site Reliability Engineer Interview Preparation Guide
Site Reliability Engineer (SRE)
Spotify
Staff
9 rounds
Updated 11/22/2025
Spotify's interview process for Staff-level Site Reliability Engineers is highly selective and comprehensive, typically spanning 6-10 weeks. The process follows a structured progression starting with recruiter screening, followed by technical phone rounds to assess systems knowledge, and culminating in 6 on-site interviews covering system design, infrastructure automation, incident management, performance optimization, behavioral fit, and leadership capabilities. Each round serves as an elimination step, with particular emphasis on real-world problem-solving, distributed systems expertise, and cultural alignment with Spotify's engineering practices.
Interview Rounds
1
Recruiter Screening
30 min3 focus topicsbehavioral
2
Technical Phone Screen - Linux Systems and Fundamentals
60 min5 focus topicstechnical
3
System Design Phone Screen - Distributed Systems Fundamentals
60 min5 focus topicssystem design
4
On-Site Interview 1 - Large-Scale System Design
60 min5 focus topicssystem design
5
On-Site Interview 2 - Infrastructure, Automation, and Tooling
60 min5 focus topicstechnical
6
On-Site Interview 3 - Incident Response and Troubleshooting
60 min5 focus topicscase study
7
On-Site Interview 4 - Performance Optimization and Capacity Planning
60 min5 focus topicstechnical
8
On-Site Interview 5 - Behavioral and Spotify Culture Fit
60 min5 focus topicsbehavioral
9
On-Site Interview 6 - Leadership, Strategy, and Technical Direction
60 min5 focus topicstechnical
Additional Information