Ask HN: Getting a job at a FAANG as a senior/principal engineer

3 pointsmofeeta3y ago2 comments

I’ve gained a lot from Ask HN posts, so I wanted to know what the community thinks is the best course of action to get hired at a FAANG given that I’m a senior/principal engineer.

Some more context:

Recently, I’ve been offered a director of engineering position, so I’m at a crossroads: head down the management path or really focus on getting into one of the FAANGs. I’m leaning towards the latter.

I’ve been coding for ~25 years. I’d honestly rank my software skills as above average, but I’m no Jeff Dean.

I have a formal CS background from a school that seemed rigorous.

I’ve only ever worked for IT departments in mid-sized companies except for a couple of years when I owned and ran a Rails consultancy.

I was going to list the languages and frameworks I’m proficient in, but those things don’t seem as valuable when trying to get hired at that caliber of company.

Given all that, what should I focus on? I’ve started the leetcode grind, but should I focus more on system design and architecture given my experience?

I’d be grateful for any advice.

2 comments

politelemon3y ago

What do you, the person who is going to have to live the decision, want to focus on? What makes you happy, and what makes you sort of excited?

mofeetaOP3y ago

Thanks for the response, but I'm not following you. I'm not asking if I should take the director position or not, but what I should focus on to get a job at a FAANG. It seems like just grinding leetcode might not be the best course given that I'm a senior engineer.

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